Masterclass Every Letter Is a Love Letter and lecture by Marge Monko

Tallinn-based artist Marge Monko explores artistically how media like photography, text and moving images are used as tools by public institutions or private companies in their ways of communication. She employs methods like documenting, staging and appropriating, linked to influences of psychoanalysis, feminism and theories of visual culture. In her latest work ‘Stones Against Diamonds, Diamonds Against Stones’ curated by Belgian art historian Evelien Bracke and shown in the Tallinn City Gallery, Monko takes the approach of world-leading diamond company De Beers as a case study to explore the phenomenon of desire.

This lecture takes place in the context of the masterclass Every Letter Is a Love Letter by Marge Monko. In this masterclass, master students of St Lucas Antwerp and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp will explore and work on ways of communicating affection.

Love involves a wide range of issues – platonic love, idolatry, religion, sexuality, desire, rejection – and touches upon very different disciplines, i.e. psychology, biology, biochemistry, sociology, etc. Each student will choose a text – this can be a poem, a song, a letter, an email, a text message or graffiti – as a starting point to develop an individual work. The resulting work can be in one or other medium: an image, an object, a piece of jewellery, an installation, a performance, etc. In addition to a lecture on the topic of the romantic discourse, introductions to the artistic practices of related artists and film screenings will take place. During the masterclass, these artworks and films will be discussed as well as current tendencies. The writings of sociologist Eva Illouz will provide a theoretical background to this subject. The masterclass will consist of both group and individual meetings.

View more about Marge Monko's work at:
www.margemonko.com