In a 1997 issue of October journal devoted to the Situationists, T.J. Clark and Donald Nicholson-Smith rejected the narrative that, in the early 1960s, the SI renounced art in favour of politics.…
In this podcast combined with a large body of images, Charlotte Laubard explores what she calls the ‘self-taught enigma.’ Multiform, this enigma questions the modes of art learning and artistic invention as…
Using the notions of mind-set and skill-set, Lynne Cooke suggests combining a cognitive approach with an anthropological reading in order to critically analyse the career and reception of several American self-taught artists.
Portrayed as an absolute oddity, both solitary and providential, the American singer-songwriter and cartoonist Daniel Johnston (1961-2019) has often been labelled an outsider, ‘naïve’ and ‘crude,’ by artistic historiography. Based on readings…
By evoking a series of discoveries made during her research on ‘informal’ or ‘unformatted’ learning, Hélène Bézille explores the socio-historical construction of the figure of the autodidact. She observes in particular how…
Held on Monday March 22nd, the 2021 edition of the Master Symposium was a collective all-day event organised by the HEAD’s MA in Visual Arts Department: Work.Master, CCC, and TRANS. This year,…
Produced during a study day organised by Charlotte Laubard, head of the Visual Arts Department at HEAD – Genève, the entries in this feature look back at the place of self-taught artists…
The HEAD offers various workshops devoted to writing in art and design, and this feature looks at writing practices at the school through student productions and interviews with two specialists: Carla Demierre…
While remote teaching has momentarily transformed their common creative writing course into a podcast, Fabienne Radi and Carla Demierre nonetheless advocate for experiential learning: the experience of reading, writing and rewriting beyond…
In September 2009, the literature periodical Remue.net – founded by the technophile writer François Bon – sat down with Hervé Laurent, the HEAD’s “Monsieur Texte,” to discuss the writing workshop Laurent pioneered…