Nolens Volens 1. Current events.

The first issue of which we are presenting, has the intention of operating in the area —little-developed by Spanish contemporary art publications— of the publication of current art projects. The objective is to articulate this artistic production within a theoretical framework that deals with controversial issues of artistic practice. Thus, the format will be that of a selection of a monographic subject to be treated in each annually published issue.

This publication is published by the Art Department of the Escuela Superior de Arte y Arquitectura de la Universidad Europea de Madrid. We believe that this university context is particularly appropriate one for tackling this sort of projects which, owing to their specialised nature and lack of commercial associations, do not raise interest in other sectors of editorial production. This situation contrasts with the great interest awoken by this type of format, fundamental in the normal development of contemporary art, among professionals, researchers and the informed public.

The subject articulates this first issue is “contemporary issues” and, more specifically, “current events”, as work material in art. The choice of this matter as the defining element of the first issue is motivated by the central role played by this resource, offered by the media’s coverage of current events, in the production of contemporary art and by a certain critical predisposition to question the effectiveness of the discourses developed on the basis of this concept. In this sense, on the one hand, the superficial level on which the issues treated are focussed, owing to the urgency with which they are dispatched before public opinion, may deserve criticism, and on the other, there is the danger of playing up to the mechanisms of “info-entertainment”, and their need to continually generate news to provide content for the various means of communication.

In any case, the selection of texts and projects aims to reflect diverse positions with respect to the question treated in this first issue of Nolens Volens, put forth in the contributions of: Jota Castro, Carlos Jiménez, Mariana David, Rafael Doctor, Christoph Draeger, Vlad Nanca, Azucena Vieites, Juan Pérez Aguirregoikoa, Santiago Sierra, Ana Carnerero, Fernando Bryce, Joaquín Ivars, Eduard Thomas/Tepepunk, Carlos Pazos, Ruben Santiago, Taller Popular de Serigrafía, Noaz, Minerva Cuevas y Daniel Villegas, Isaac Montoya, Eugenio Merino.