Descent to Revolution

BUREAU FOR OPEN CULTURE

This catalogue is published in conjuction with the exhibition Descend to Revolution (September 10 - November 24, 2009) curated by James Voorhies, organized by Bureau for Open Culture at Columbus College of Art & Design

Claire Fontaine, Learning Site, Red76, REINIGUNGSGESELLSCHAFT, Tercerunquinto

Making revolution is not easy.
For that matter, determining what is revolution is not easy. In a neoliberal society that distorts meaning and context for the purpose of private capital gain over public welfare, the concept of revolution has slid somewhere into the abyss of obscurity. Revolution more readily conjures Levi Strauss, Sephora, Chevrolet, Gap, Nike and Apple than
Lenin, Tocqueville, Jefferson, Mao, Hungary, 1968, East Berlin, Castro and Guatemala. The meaning of revolution has been reshaped by private agendas. They have changed its immediate connection with political contexts and political actions. The exhibition Descent to Revolution draws on a discourse of revolutionary action, revolutionary
language and revolutionary theory.

James Voorhies