The Politics of Friendship

On July 9, 2013, the web journal The New Inquiry released “Further Materials toward a Theory of the Man-Child” by Mal Ahern and Moira Weigel, and the essay went viral (http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/further-materials-toward-a-theory-of-the-man-child). Serving up more than one version of what or who possibly lurks behind every Young-Girl (PDF: http://libcom.org/files/jeune-fille.pdf), the essay articulated a term of engagement rampant not only in academia where the authors circulate, but endemic as well in the worlds of contemporary art and its structures of success– a disgracefully sexist field. A solo exhibition by Anicka Yi at STUDIOLO slated for September 2013 evolved into a collaborative project among Anicka Yi, Jordan Lord, Lise Soskolne and Carissa Rodriguez. Yi and Lord's reading of Derrida's The Politics of Friendship became the grounds for a related conversation about responsibility, call and response. The group asked others to respond to Ahern and Weigel's essay in the form of a poster, image, or text to be compiled into a publication.