Breaking the Frame: Subversion from Within

The editorial for the first of two issues of Kunstlicht that explore the tenuous state of subversion in artistic practice, and the forces with which an artist must contend when making work that poses a threat to reigning hegemonies. This first issue looks at subversive practice in relation to institutions of art, which excludes and dictate, thus presenting an impetus for artists to subvert their aims. But there is likewise a propensity for institutions to consume criticism and reflect it back, or even commission their own criticism in performance of criticality.