Exposure: A Critic’s Manifesto
Exposure: A Critic’s Manifesto
Version 1, March 2020.
Leah Modigliani
The true critic knows that the most effective criticism is grounded in the confidence of self-exposure and self-criticism, not in the seemingly objective mastery of facts.
The true critic understands that criticism is an ethics of care that can only emerge out of a great love of her subject. And like all great loves, this takes time to cultivate. Indeed, the true critic has mastered immersive attention.
The true critic will seat herself at her own table.
The true critic is comfortable embracing a maternal instinct and understands that her work is to prefigure a new reality.
The true critic is humble enough to know that times change and her opinions may fall out of favor, but what really counts is having a voice and using it when it mattered.
The true critic is a healthy skeptic.
The true critic understands that no future God will redeem us from eschewing our responsibilities to others or for acting like an asshole today.
The true critic knows there is no formal or creative limit to what criticism can be.
The true critic acknowledges that differentials in social power exist because of human-made structural inequities. She can therefor acknowledge her privileges or lack thereof.
The true critic knows that it takes two to tango.
The true critic is comfortable with not knowing. Indeed, she sees that the pursuit of knowledge is what makes life worth living.
The true critic is not quick to judge those who came before her for their lack of ideological purity. She recognizes that social change is a messy and imperfect affair and she is comfortable taking some risks; she is likely to unknowingly make mistakes that will surely be discovered by others in the future. Still, it will probably be worth it.
The true critic thus believes in the promise of the avant-garde, even as she remains as ever, a healthy skeptic.
The true critic does not condone bashing the utopian thinkers of the past for their inability to produce tangential outcomes than can be measured and quantified. She understands that creating solidarity with others through voicing a vision is what counts.
The true critic appreciates the difference between equity and discussions of equity.
The true critic hears that question that is not really a question, and notices it for what it is; an act of un-listening based in a desire to have one’s already-established point of view affirmed.
The true critic understands that a mind, or an artwork, or a social system can contain irreconcilable differences at the same time.
The true critic excels at unpacking complexity, and happily rejects mono-disciplinary logic.
The true critic, in fact, rejects specialization.
The true critic is inclined to speak her mind, even when it is at odds with social custom or prevailing thought.
The true critic writes in real time.
The true critic is a time traveler. She sees the world as it was and as it is, and writes how it will be.
The true critic’s mission is to publicly stake specific cultural claims that profess her personal and political values. This is an assertion of identity in a world that is increasingly antagonized by identity-politics and the administration of life.
The true critic is able to see the social and economic inequities of her subjects clearly, and does not ignore them in pursuit of mythological aesthetic purity.
The true critic harnesses difference.
The true critic knows that she stands metaphorically and figuratively in the geographies of the discourses she seeks to unsettle.
The true critic is engaged in a battle for her autonomy. She knows that ‘freedom’ is actually a state of being in a spectrum of geographical and historical possibilities.
The true critic is committed to transforming the practical aspects of everyday life.
The true critic foresees the growing network that results from her occupation.
As the past and the future crash into the present, the true critic knows that until patriarchy is dismantled and the neoliberal world order abandoned in favor of a yet-unknown alternative, the time to act is now.
In an ongoing emergency, the true critic sees that criticism is irrelevant without action.
Version 1, March 2020.
Leah Modigliani
The true critic knows that the most effective criticism is grounded in the confidence of self-exposure and self-criticism, not in the seemingly objective mastery of facts.
The true critic understands that criticism is an ethics of care that can only emerge out of a great love of her subject. And like all great loves, this takes time to cultivate. Indeed, the true critic has mastered immersive attention.
The true critic will seat herself at her own table.
The true critic is comfortable embracing a maternal instinct and understands that her work is to prefigure a new reality.
The true critic is humble enough to know that times change and her opinions may fall out of favor, but what really counts is having a voice and using it when it mattered.
The true critic is a healthy skeptic.
The true critic understands that no future God will redeem us from eschewing our responsibilities to others or for acting like an asshole today.
The true critic knows there is no formal or creative limit to what criticism can be.
The true critic acknowledges that differentials in social power exist because of human-made structural inequities. She can therefor acknowledge her privileges or lack thereof.
The true critic knows that it takes two to tango.
The true critic is comfortable with not knowing. Indeed, she sees that the pursuit of knowledge is what makes life worth living.
The true critic is not quick to judge those who came before her for their lack of ideological purity. She recognizes that social change is a messy and imperfect affair and she is comfortable taking some risks; she is likely to unknowingly make mistakes that will surely be discovered by others in the future. Still, it will probably be worth it.
The true critic thus believes in the promise of the avant-garde, even as she remains as ever, a healthy skeptic.
The true critic does not condone bashing the utopian thinkers of the past for their inability to produce tangential outcomes than can be measured and quantified. She understands that creating solidarity with others through voicing a vision is what counts.
The true critic appreciates the difference between equity and discussions of equity.
The true critic hears that question that is not really a question, and notices it for what it is; an act of un-listening based in a desire to have one’s already-established point of view affirmed.
The true critic understands that a mind, or an artwork, or a social system can contain irreconcilable differences at the same time.
The true critic excels at unpacking complexity, and happily rejects mono-disciplinary logic.
The true critic, in fact, rejects specialization.
The true critic is inclined to speak her mind, even when it is at odds with social custom or prevailing thought.
The true critic writes in real time.
The true critic is a time traveler. She sees the world as it was and as it is, and writes how it will be.
The true critic’s mission is to publicly stake specific cultural claims that profess her personal and political values. This is an assertion of identity in a world that is increasingly antagonized by identity-politics and the administration of life.
The true critic is able to see the social and economic inequities of her subjects clearly, and does not ignore them in pursuit of mythological aesthetic purity.
The true critic harnesses difference.
The true critic knows that she stands metaphorically and figuratively in the geographies of the discourses she seeks to unsettle.
The true critic is engaged in a battle for her autonomy. She knows that ‘freedom’ is actually a state of being in a spectrum of geographical and historical possibilities.
The true critic is committed to transforming the practical aspects of everyday life.
The true critic foresees the growing network that results from her occupation.
As the past and the future crash into the present, the true critic knows that until patriarchy is dismantled and the neoliberal world order abandoned in favor of a yet-unknown alternative, the time to act is now.
In an ongoing emergency, the true critic sees that criticism is irrelevant without action.