The Art of War: Mythologies of Martyrdom

pp6-16 The article on the Art of War: Mythologies of Martyrdom is an introductory catalogue essay for the work of the AES+F group, Russian artists who this year exhibited at the Venice Biennale. The group became aware of my work on contemporary culture following the recent translation of my book, 'Freud for Beginners', into Russian, and invited me examine their cultural practice. The work was requested to contextualise and discuss the contemporary work of the Group and in particular their digital art works/paintings. It examines the history of images and ideas about war, and their role and function in contemporary art, as well as the complex cultural patterns that are evident in contemporary digital art. Drawing on Freud, and his relationship to Greek mythology, it analyses how the "bloodlust" of cultures is sanctified and amplified in many forms of contemporary culture and art. It analyses how the AES+F group uses fashion, image and classical poses to juxtapose contradictory ideas about youth, war, death and sexuality. In consultation with the artists I discuss their relationship to classical art, images of war and the complex post-modern world, the post-global, that we find ourselves in. The catalogue accompanies a special exhibition of their work at the Pharos Centre, Nicosia, Cyprus. The AES+F group have been widely exhibited in Europe and America and have stimulated a great deal of interest in their portrayal of the omni-present digital realities of contemporary culture. The essay seeks to open out that debate and is part of the catalogue for their most recent exhibition