Black Pocketbook Series - 11: Giving The Story A Treatment

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"I have always been interested in what forms radical or sub-cultural activities will inhabit once they eventually make their debut upon the greater cultural field. Perhaps, in these new forms, the message becomes buried under commodification and the particularities of critique lost through the move towards a greater generality and appeal to the largest demographic. In Free Room one question I sought to ask was: are these forms capable of carrying a viable critique? Or in simpler terms: which is more effective, direct action or cultural production?" Alex Morrison Giving the Story a Treatment is the first comprehensive publication on Canadian artist Alex Morrison (*1972). Best known for his documentations on the skater culture, Morrison's videos, photographs and drawings take a critical look at the marketing and strategies at work, and reveal the growing aestheticisation of the political within the cultural spectrum. The renowned Canadian writer Jeff Derksen and Danish art critic Lars Bang Larsen contribute penetrating perspectives into Morrison's work, linking it in a historical continuum with activist moments of recent history and contemporary events. Contributors Lars Bang Larsen, interview by Jeff Derksen