Published August 2010
‘The Critical Issue’ came about from a wanting to celebrate the art of writing about contemporary art. It is also a celebration of the many writers who make and have made this super paper possible. While the first ever issue of Das Superpaper’s content page is laughably short with only Nick and my name on everything, thankfully from issue 2 until now we have been very lucky to have art writers jump on board this art-loving train.
‘The Critical Issue’ sees Das Superpaper step away from its traditional interview model to celebrate the written word. It is a special skill to be able to explain and create a world for a reader through words. We here in Das-land are not interested in writing and voices that sound like everyone else. A homogenised hum, though peaceful and creepy, is not what we hope for in a writer. This issue is a celebration of the writers who, like artists, rarely don one hat only. These people are writers, thinkers, artists, ARI members, commercial, public and community gallery workers, art school nerds and beauty school drop outs, and incessant gallery and art event goers. These people take the art off the walls, try it on for size and share with us a digestible portion of what went on and what it might all be leading to.
Along with this issue we also celebrate a new online place for critical writing, Das500. It’s very exciting to be launching these two new initiatives together, as they have a massive bundle of talented writers and artists wrapped up in them. Das500 is a place where we will hear many voices and can enjoy the international and the local, the immediate and the interesting aspects of contemporary art brought to you by a gaggle of exciting emerging and established writers.
This is our first Critical Issue. I hope there will be more. A piece of critical writing is not afraid to say when something went wrong and to speak up when something special might have been over-looked. From our Australian perspective this issue has a decidedly international focus. We look at art events globally, including biennales, triennials, art fairs and film festivals, then we take a much closer look at the blockbuster Australian shows — the APT and Biennale of Sydney — then finally we get into Das500, a chance to take a closer look at the art scene in terms of local and often artist-run spaces.
This issue is dedicated to all the hard working and talented writers who have contributed to this issue and past Das Superpapers. Without their insight, their finesse — their ability to seduce words into meaningful moments, we would not have a magazine.
—Bronwyn Bailey-Charteris