Radical Empathy

Diana Boros sheds light on the political and ethical value of social practice art. This form of artmaking is inherently interactive and collaborative in that in place of a traditional viewing audience, there is rather the creation of an inclusive experience where the “audience” becomes participant, and that participation is an integral component of the work itself. She presents a vibrant argument that empathetic behavior can and should be taught, and employs “radical empathy” as the political expression of this – a habitual practice, done both deliberately and consistently, of imagining ourselves in another’s situation when discussing contentious issues. She employs the aid of both aesthetic and democratic theory to argue that socially engaged artworks can play a key role in aiding the development of these political (and emotional) habits.