In this episode, art historian and critic Tom McDonough (Binghamton University / Texte zur Kunst contributing editor) joins Micaela Dixon to discuss the politics of the image — and the legacies of critical theory in an era of visual overproduction.

Together, they explore how artistic and journalistic practices have absorbed and transformed concepts from thinkers such as Walter Benjamin and Guy Debord, and what remains of the avant-garde’s visual strategies today. The conversation also reflects on McDonough’s long engagement with institutional critique, the Situationist International, and the ways in which contemporary art continues to negotiate the space between aesthetics, activism, and spectacle.

A dense yet lucid exchange on what images do — how they act, circulate, and shape our understanding of the world.

FAIR ENOUGH is a podcast by ART COLOGNE in collaboration with TEXTE ZUR KUNST, bringing together artists, curators, writers, and thinkers to examine how art responds to the urgencies of our time.

Season 1 marks TEXTE ZUR KUNST’s 35th anniversary with the theme: There Is No Art Without Criticism.