Spike #79
216 x 280mm, 162 pages
Vienna, Austria & Berlin, Germany (German & English-language)
Quarterly
Published since 2004
Editor-in-chief: Rita Vitorelli
Art direction: Mirko Borsche
Spike is an art magazine. This issue is dedicated to Pessimism:
'Eco ruin and refugeeism, illiberalization and inequality, hot wars and a New Cold War – the polycrisis hydra is always growing another head. But it’s also a state of mind, an identity crisis brought on by paralysis and cognitive shock. Was it always like this, but with less media reach? Or is capitalism really burning itself out, just without any redemptive zest?
'The arts are expert at thematizing the woes that affect them – hello, Biennale and documenta – but maybe polycrisis is an instructive metaphor for what’s breaking creativity: the commercial takeover of discourse, the bureaucratization of curating, and the dopamine highs of self-branding...'
‘I love Spike magazine. The quarterly art magazine has been published since 2004 by artist Rita Vitorelli and has just reached its 50th issue. It follows an idiosyncratic editorial direction – part of its strength is its refusal to follow the crowd, and the art mag shelf is a crammed one. It’s not easy to stand out, but Spike’s mix of written and visual essays brings a more curatorial than editorial approach. And the main reason it stands out is its design.’ Read more