ISSUE 34: FAMILY VALUES

Is our family like a tree, firmly rooted, or like a fan, unfolding in many directions? The notion of family has long been framed as a stable, secure entity. Yet today, family values are shaped by forces that generate profound insecurity— economic, ecological, and social. Drawing from Astra Taylor's insights in The Age of Insecurity, this issue exam- ines how systems designed to create security, like money and property, paradoxically deepen our anxiety and uncertainty.

As we approach the end of a year marked by wars and destabilization, we rethink the family nucleus as more than just a biological or historical unit. We explore it through artists like Ayumi Paul, Danh Vo, and Leiko Ikemura, who offer alternative visions of interconnectedness. Taylor’s argument that capitalism is an “insecurity-producing machine” applies here, as the traditional family model is manipulated by power structures to uphold inequality, creating both division and a false sense of safety.

Inspired by Japanese graphics from the Edo period (1603–1868), safeguarded at the Langen Foundation— celebrating its 20th anniversary as a family-run art collection—we explore how contemporary artists reinterpret the era’s sustainable practices of togetherness, where human and ecological bonds coexisted in both peace and crisis. Through artists like Michikazu Matsune and Ayami Awazuhara, we see how family ties, like other social structures, are fluid and shaped by their surroundings. Yet, as Taylor notes, insecurity invites solidarity. Even the privileged are not immune to financial or environmental precarity, as Joshua Citarella and Catherine Liu discussed in their conversation on the rise of the new managerial class.