What are the uses of cultural criticism? How does it improve art and artists, and how much does it impede them? How does criticism intersect with political ideology? What's changed in the age of the internet?

In our pilot episode, Juliet Jacques discusses the uses, possibilities and limits of arts criticism with Fatema Ahmed, who has held editorial positions at Apollo, Granta and Icon, and contributed to numerous publications, and Daniela Cascella, author of En Abîme (2012) and F.M.R.L. (2015), both published by Zero, and Singed (2017, Equus Press).

Works referenced:

NAM JUNE PAIK, Suite (212) (1975) - https://www.eai.org/titles/suite-212

NAM JUNK PAIK, 'Media Planning for the Post-Industrial Society' (1974) - http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/source-text/33/

FENNESZ, 'Aus' (from Hotel Paral.lel, 1997) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4WNWhE45gc

BRIAN DILLON, Essayism (2017) - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/23/essayism-brian-dillon-review-essays-michel-de-montaigne-georges-perec-joan-didion

KATE ZAMBRENO, Heroines (2013) - https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/heroines

CHRIS KRAUS, collected works and films - https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/10/arts/design/chris-kraus-films.html

OLIVIA LAING, The Lonely City (2016) - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/28/the-lonely-city-olivia-laing-edward-hopper-andy-warhol

PIER PAOLO PASOLINI, The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) and La Ricotta (short film in Ro.G.Pa.G, 1962) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_od3BxJ2W0

ELENA FERRANTE, La frantumaglia (Fragments)

T. S. ELIOT, The Uses of Poetry and the Uses of Criticism - http://tseliot.com/prose/the-use-of-poetry-and-the-use-of-criticism

ANATOLI LUNACHARSKY, 'Theses on the Problems of Marxist Criticism' (1928) - https://www.marxists.org/archive/lunachar/1928/criticism.htm

HELENE CIXOUS, 'The Laugh of the Medusa' (1975) - https://artandobjecthood.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/cixous_the_laugh_of_the_medusa.pdf

Ready Steady Book - http://www.readysteadybook.com

This Space - http://this-space.blogspot.co.uk

ANN QUIN - https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2007/may/08/whocaresaboutannquin

ELIZABETH HARDWICK - Seduction and Betrayal (1973) - http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1973/05/31/seduction-and-betrayal-i/

ELFRIEDE JELINEK - Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2004) - https://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/index.php?id=721

INGEBORG BACHMANN - 'Literature as Utopia' - http://shirtysleeves.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/a-translation-of-literatur-als-utopie.html

GEORGE ELIOT - 'Silly Novels by Silly Lady Novelists' (1856) - https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/silly-novels-by-lady-novelists-essay-by-george-eliot

BHANU KAPIL - Ban en Banlieue (2015) - http://www.nightboat.org/title/ban-en-banlieue