The Ecology of Attention: Art Criticism in the Expanded Now

As an echo of how technology reshapes the (art-)world, art criticism situated in the arts’ ecological system spreads widely. Currently, the field witnesses a dissemination to different pockets and formats – Instagram, TikTok, Substack, YouTube, memes, extending the reach of blogs, websites, online magazines, or rather traditional formats as newspapers, journals, and magazines. Have the new formats keyed themselves to a younger, hyper-contemporary audience versed in cultural development not only within art but from adjacent fields? Amid the saturation of digital media, information bubbles, and AI-generated content, does criticism still serve as a space for reflection and resistance, or has it transformed into a mode of participation that mirrors rather than challenges dominant discursive formations? Setting aside the usual “crisis” refrain, interest in art criticism is resurging, and with it a renewed esteem for human writing – a hopeful sign as the field adapts.