A defense of art in troubled times by undefined

A defense of art in troubled times

Disaster is here, writes Teju Cole in the Art Basel | Year 48 book, but productive doubt offers a glimmer of hope
Teju Cole. Photo by: Christopher Anderson. Courtesy of Christopher Anderson/Magnum Photos.
Teju Cole. Photo by: Christopher Anderson. Courtesy of Christopher Anderson/Magnum Photos.


The first line of Maurice Blanchot’s The Writing of the Disaster reads, ‘The disaster ruins everything, all the while leaving everything intact.’ 


In response to the alarm of seismic change, we are pressured not only to rethink fundamentals, but to exile from ourselves whatever is not deemed fundamental and immediate.


In the middle of the disaster, patriotism does one kind of work; oppositional citizenship, propelled by productive doubt, does another.