The first part of the 2012 "second issue" of the "live magazine" — following 2011's "first issue", a similar series of events — featured Sam Jacob of FAT, discussing Chat Show formatting and its psychological nature. The night featured guest video appearances from Parkinson, Oprah, Donohue, Wogan and Charlie Rose. The second event was centered around the Protest format, with writer and film-historian Michael Brooke and political-theatre-maker and poet Harry Giles. Here anti-war movements and the Arab Spring of 2011 were examined for what might be embedded in these means of political expression.
The third event, Spam, reunited art writer Cressida Kocienski, AA graphic designer Wayne Daly, filmmaker and writer Hito Steyerl, looking at information that takes the format of spam: telling us things we didn't notice about ourselves — how fat we are, how unhappy we are, how puny we are —, and then offering to sell us something in order to make it all better.
Format takes place in the Architectural Association's Soft Room, and will conclude 17 July at 18:30. Commentary features writer and editor Victoria Camblin, Belgian-American artist Cécile B Evans, and curator Paul Pieroni. It will include musings on commentators far and wide, including MTV's dynamic pop-video commentating duo Beavis and Butt-head.
17 July, 18:30
Format: Commentary
Architectural Association
London