Reality TV and Art
with Olivier Razac (philosopher) and Vincent Pécoil (art historian and critic)
Debate (4/6)
Tuesday 20 April 2004

Olivier Razac
(Aged 31, lives in Paris). His philosophy thesis at the Université de Paris VIII, on medical and philosophical notions of health and vitality, will be published in October 2004 (La grande santé. Bien-être médical ou vitalité philosophique, Denoël). His contribution here concerns his essay about the French equivalent of Big Brother, Loft Story ( “L’écran et le zoo. Spectacle et domestication, des expositions coloniales à Loft Story”, Denoël, 2002), in which he establishes a parallel between reality TV and zoos, based essentially on the question of spectacle: a confined living space, which watchers observe in real time, interpreted and legitimised by an expert, the zoo researcher or TV shrink. Here, Razac links his research on reality TV to a number of artistic projects.

Vincent Pécoil
(Born 1971, lives in Dijon.) A historian of contemporary art, critic, teacher at the Besançon regional art school and tutor on the “thirteenth session” project at the Magasin school, he has published collections of writings by various artists (Dan Graham, Oyvind Fahlström) as well as his own texts, Prière américaine (2002, all Presses du réel). His most recent publication is the catalogue raisonné of Jens Hanning (“Hello, My Name Is Jens Hanning”, Centre Art Mobile/Le Consortium: Les Presses du réel, 2003).
In his contribution he suggests a parallel between talk shows and freak shows, then goes on to discuss the way in which some artists nowadays appropriate formats and procedures that are also used by TV productions and, conversely, how reflexive processes more usually associated with the world of art are now being seen on some television shows.