Julio Torres's Color Theories and the art of curatorial comedy - Artforum
artforum.com
Julio Torres turns a deadpan comedy special into a Marxist critique of taste, proving that how we talk about color reveals everything about class and power.
Commodity FetishismCultural CapitalTaste TheoryMarxist Critique
Theory Briefing
- Torres's HBO special Color Theories disguises a Marxist critique of capitalism as a TED Talk about color palettes.
- The special argues that consumer 'taste' is never neutral — it encodes class, power, and commodity fetishism.
- By weaponizing deadpan absurdism, Torres makes Bourdieu-style cultural theory land as punchlines rather than lectures.