24. A Girl is a Gun (w/ Alex Quicho)

Listen to this episode from Disintegrator on Spotify. Few people have done more to define the contemporary media theory landscape than Alex Quicho @amfq, an indefinable thinker and artist and intellectual force who brought Girl Theory to the front and center of The Discourse. One note, friend of the pod Morgane Billuart has also just released an interview with Alex on her excellent podcast Becoming the Product. We don't believe there's such a thing as too much AMFQ. Morgane is an upcoming guest for us too, so it's a nice trifecta!In terms of Quicho-core:Everyone is a Girl Online (September 2023) -- if you haven't read it, HARD RECCO.The Aura Points lecture (December 2024)Small Gods: Perspective on the Drone (May 2021) GIRLSTACK at BODYSTACKThe amazing girlstack substack -- because everyone is a girl and everyone is online ;)Key references and concepts from the pod include:Helena shouts out Bogna Konior whose work is absolutely at the top of the top atm. We love her lecture ANGELS IN LATENT SPACES omg.When identifying AI with/as a girl, Alex leverages concepts from K Allado-McDowell on model-as-self.Alex references Sayak Valencia's Gore Capitalism and Maggie Nelson's The Art of Cruelty on media representations of violenceWe briefly chat about Maya B. Kronik and Amy Ireland's "cute accelerationism" paradigm and their year-defining book on the topic.Alex grabs some concepts from Paul Virilio and Susan Sontag's foundational work on photography, violence and war, Edward Glissant's work on opacity and resistance, Benedict Singleton's traps and levers, Helen Hester and the Laboria Cuboniks collective's xenofeminism, Tiqqun's young girl, and (IYKYK) Luciana Parisi's absolutely singular "Abstract Sex" (the book that brough Roberto and Marek 2gether).Marek shouts out master of blur Dana Dawud's Monad series.Helena references artist Zein Majali's work "Propane" and Jennie Livingston's generation-defining "Paris is Burning."