''Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism'' is a bimonthly journal of contemporary art, culture, and politics. It publishes features, essays, local and international reportage, exhibition reviews, and book reviews with an emphasis on social dialogue, politically engaged artistic practices, and the role of the artist as

cultural critic A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole. Cultural criticism has significant overlap with social and cultural theory. While such criticism is simply part of the self-consciousness of the culture, the social positions o ...

and

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

. The journal was published by the Visual Studies Workshop, a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

, artist-run, education center for

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

and other media arts based in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

and since 2018, published by the

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

History

''Afterimage'' was founded in 1972 by photographer and curator Nathan Lyons, who had previously served as assistant director and chief curator of the international museum of photography known as George Eastman House. From its inaugural issue, the magazine aimed to pose "a challenge to existing centres of practice and education" as well as "to institutional hierarchies, widening the remit of art criticism and theoretical debate and engaging directly with context, community and issues of

accountability In ethics and governance, accountability is equated with answerability, culpability, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As in an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the public secto ...

." Former ''Afterimage'' editor Grant H. Kester described the ethos of the magazine in terms of two primary modes of resistance: * "an attempt to contest the then dominant tendency to view art photography as a form of pure expression that must remain uncontaminated by more mundane or quotidian uses of the medium" * "a desire to break down the division between the practicing artist and the historian or critic, resulting in new hybrid figures such as the 'artist/curator' or the 'artist/critic'"

Contributors

The journal's list of contributors has included notable artists such as Coco Fusco and Martha Rosler.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Afterimage (magazine) 1972 establishments in the United States Bimonthly magazines published in the United States Contemporary art magazines Magazines established in 1972 Magazines published in New York (state) Mass media in Rochester, New York Photography magazines published in the United States