Sidebar: Toward a form of art criticism for the current moment

Or, further reflections on Lucienne Rickard’s “Extinction Studies”, and beyond

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). 'Über den Zwischenkiefer des Menschen und der Thiere von Goethe. Jena: 1786.'

---

In legal terms, a sidebar is a discussion that occurs in a law court between the lawyers and the judge held out of earshot of the jury; in journalism, a sidebar is a short article placed alongside a main article, containing additional or explanatory material; but to my mind, a sidebar is also a small bar off from the main bar where a small group can sit over a quiet drink and converse, away from the din of the crowd. These sidebar pieces – for paying subscribers and special guests, my judges – are a combination of all three.

---

1.

As you probably noticed from my recent piece on Lucienne Rickard’s Extinction Studies, I am more than a little obsessed with that particular work of art. I’ve spent far too much time watching it unfold over weeks and months (and now years), thinking about it, and more importantly thinking through it, in order to consider new ways of figuring the relationship between art and science; other than the commonplace way, which is to use art to represent science, to present the findings of science in a more accessible way, or simply to illustrate science. The limitations of this is that it easily slips into didacticism, which undermines art qua art (it becomes propaganda) and it does little service to the science qua science (it becomes entertainment). Unfortunately, this is currently the norm in galleries, museums, and festivals – where both art and science are presented as passive distraction rather than active inquiry.