About
Naked Punch
Naked Punch originates
from a collective, now dissolved, called “The Postanalytic Group”,
that in 2002 met for a series of weekly gatherings. Naked Punch
is run by a large editorial collective headed by three editors
working on a voluntary basis.
Naked Punch is an engaged review of contemporary art and thought.
Essentially a federal, "non-institutional" project,
Naked Punch is the spontaneous collaboration of thinkers and artists
residing in different cities of the world. Before being a magazine,
a container of material or a "cabinet of objects", it
is a shared understanding, a shared feeling of unease, a shared
concern, and a shared sensitivity.
A distinguishing feature of Naked Punch is its contemporaneity
. The review aims to actively engage with current developments
in, broadly, three deeply connected areas.
The first concern we aim to address is the philosophical or, more
generally, theoretical impasse that characterises much of contemporary
discussion. Torn between a highly self-conscious "European"
difficulty to surpass the deconstructive rhetoric and an English
speaking philosophy that has divorced itself from fundamental
cultural and social engagements, the current state of theoretical
thought is in need of a new direction that actively surmounts
the risk of a purely self-referential, quasi-aesthetic philosophy,
and the risk of an escape to an "ivory tower" characterised
by exquisitely technical concerns and "professionalized"
philosophising.
The second concern may be termed social or political . In times
of great political turbulence, where the classical categories
of political understanding and social division prove their inefficacy
daily, a renewed interest in and engagement with the course our
global society is taking is vitally necessary. Aside from political
figures, we aim to pose the question of the shape our society
ought to take to philosophers and artists alike, inaugurating
a platform of social debate between different and varied currents
of thought.
The third concern we may call artistic . By treating artists and
film directors as serious thinkers, we aim to put into communication
contemporary artistic currents with the developments of society
at large. We believe in the power of art to render more intelligible
the reality one dwells in, or "the spirit of the age",
to use such a term.
Our inter-disciplinary character aims to persuade the reader that
the areas of expression just discussed cannot be clearly divided
up in "spheres of influence", to be tackled by an exquisitely
professionalized one-dimensional thinker. It is rather the interplay
of such disciplines that, representing the fundamental expression
and definition of the age, needs to be fostered and encouraged.
We strive to create debate and conversation over and across entrenched
institutional and academic lines – with the hope of creating options
that can help us reassert our agency in creating and shaping our
shared existence. Naked Punch is an internationalist project;
we actively seek to introduce our readers to thinkers geographically
outside of the Western hemisphere in the hope of creating a 'fusion
of horizons', which can truly reflect and further the hybrid and
interrelated nature of our existence.
Not just a magazine
Because of its origin, Naked Punch has always been more then a
magazine. It has always attempted to draw people together, to
increase debate, to engage with an array of media.
For this reason the Naked Punch Collective is also an active organiser
of cultural, political, and artistic events, as well as engaging
in the field of art practice and cinema.
In late 2005, Naked Punch has organised a short
series of “cabaret” nights in London, by the name “Cabaret Orpheй”,
eclectically employing musical and theatrical elements.
In 2006, Naked Punch has organised an international
symposium of contemporary aesthetics around the figure of Arthur
Danto, one of the key participants together with Richards Shusterman.
Also in 2006, another symposium by the title “The Future of Islam:
Possible Paths” has been organised, with the participation of
Tariq Ramadan and Ziaouddin Sardar.
Naked Punch has also organised a series
of launch parties to accompany its new issues. These generally
included the performance of a number of short plays, experiments
with sound, and spoken word.
Naked Punch is an independent publication and
needs public support and encouragement. Please subscribe to the
magazine, or support our project by becoming a patron. You can
find more information on the drop-down menus above.
We hope you will enjoy our publication. Naked Punch is an open collective, we welcome your involvement, feedback, and/or submissions. You can contact us at info@nakedpunch.com
The
Naked Punch Board is as follows:
Editor
Hugo Ball
New York Editorial Committee
Asif Akhtar
Katrine Bregengaard
AK47@nakedpunch.com
London Editorial Committee
Oscar Guardiola-Rivera
Stephanie Bailey
Assistant Editors
Amin Samman
Zoe Sutherland
Contributing Editors
Zain Sardar
Zoe Sutherland
Vijay Prashad
Illan Wall
John Chalcraft
Saiful Huq
Magid Shihade
Sunaina Maira
Julien Columeau
|
Consulting Editors
David Basamian
Simon Critchley
Costas Douzinas
Selma James
Marcus Rediker
Hilary Lawson
Ziauddin Sardar
Richard Shusterman
Peter Weibel
Print Issue Layout
Sadaf Chughtai
Website Design & Development
Zeeshan Malik
Peter Robinett
Production Manager
Zaki Abbas
|
|