The Carnival of Popularity

This article illustrates a persistent recent strain in my research invoking the concept of 'carnival and carnivalesque' as a possible interface between art, politics, culture and society. Here, the argument lead into and refers to emergent issues of Nationalism and Populism and pits the artist's interest in Pop and Popularity againsth these more perncius manifestations. Numerous artists and theorists are referred to, covering a long historical arc, while always keeping the most recent developments in politics at the heart of the argument (this article also links to a series of related articles by the author for Third Text Online).

5,000 word article, based on Paul O'Kane's research and lecturing, published in the Online Supplement of Peer Reviewed journal Third Text.