Friday, September 17, 2010
WEEK 4 READINGS: Curators and Artists
Hello All,
Here are the readings for Week 4.
The Robert Storr video above is optional viewing.
Click the comments link below to publish your response.
Responses are Due by Wed., 9/22 at midnight.
Warm regards,
Terri
Week 4 - Curators and Artists:
1. In Search of the Ultimate, Fallon, 2005
2. Do Curators Need University Curatorial Programs?, Moser, C Magazine, 2008.
3. The Curators Moment. (Trends in the Field of International ContemporaryArt Exhibitions), Michael Brenson, Art Journal, 1998.
4. How an Art Scene Became a Youthscape, Benjamin Genocchio, The New York Times, 2004.
5. In the Realms of Flight and Fantasy, Lance Esplund, WSJ, 2010
Optional additional readings / video on the topic:
1. Response to Moser, Jones, ICA Halifax, 2009.
2. Go Ahead, Expect Surprises, Cotter, 2007
3. The Whitney Biennial and the Failure of an Empire, Village Voice, 2008.
4. Collectors and Their Collections:
a) di Rosa Preserve
b) Pamela and Richard Kramlich
5. Complaint Box | Adult Art, NYT, Bernstein, 2009 (of note as we curate our show!)
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A. Nesbit
ReplyDeleteRobert Fallon
It's hard for me to have much of an opinion about this. It was very editorial and pretty much standard, I think. Any curator with a knowledge of the past knows that controversy will make your show seen by way more people. As far as her putting many different kinds of artist in the show, it seems like a logical move considering how well art manages to be indefinable.
Do Curators need university curatorial programs?
I feel as if the answer to this is no. Like many degree's it would be better for curatorial students to simply go out and start working in the business. This certainly seems like a better way to become involved in contemporary curatorial work.
NADA
It's great to hear of young artist being appreciated and exhibited. Chummy atmosphere or no, I don't thinks people should have to wait 40 year before being able to make a decent amount of money off their work.
Lance Esplund
I can't tell if this writer enjoyed this show or not. I'm guessing he really wanted to like it but just couldn't bring himself to. A paired show, to me, sounds like a great idea, i had no idea about the previous art history occurrences.
Brittany Enright
ReplyDeleteSeptember 21, 2010
The Curatorial theme was interesting this week’ the different readings brought of different points that I have wondered about or thought where really interesting. Do Curators Need University Curatorial Programs? was fascinating because I thought the same thing at one time. Not saying that I don’t think it should be a program or anything; its just something that I wondered if a Major in this area was required? Before attending Moore I assumed that people that worked in galleries got there based on their art experience. Whether this experience is in art history, art critics, or fine arts background. However, I believe that one could go into this field with the backgrounds that I have stated or with a curatorial degree. Curatorial Study majors are most likely taught things that I know I wouldn’t think of, or just know that basic order of things in a gallery. Now the Apartment Galleries in New York seem like a really great idea as well. When first reading about it I just that it would be in a more chill environment and for me that works. Some galleries that i have visited make me feel unwelcome, uncomfortable or I just have a feeling that I’m being watch that whole time and i can’t enjoy looking at the art.
In the Realms of Flight and Fantasy the way the exhibition was described and that image in the reading reminded me of the Barnes Foundation and the way that everything is displayed.
I found this week's readings to be informative. To be quite honest, prior to attending Moore, I did not have much info on what Curators do. I think that Curators are important in our field. To say whether it should be a major offered at Universities is hard to say. I believe that one should have formal education about art to be a curator, so attending an accredited Art College/University is definitely important. But it's hard to say if the program should be eliminated as a major. What I can say is maybe courses should be offered to those intending to become curators, to help them understand the field, along with their other courses as art historians, art educators, etc. But, whether or not people agree on this topic there's no doubt about their importance in our lives as artists!!!
ReplyDeleteLaurel Patterson
ReplyDeleteThe readings this week touched on areas that were very interesting and informative for me. The focus of the curator seems to be one that has never been really clear to me. In Roberta Fallon’s article she explains that there is much more to curating than just lumping together the best of the best (which of course I agree) and then spitting them out. There is art to the role of curator. Take for example the pairing shows talked about by Lance Esplund. not all art goes together. The curator has to make informed decisions as to what will make for a strong show. You have to chose artists that will feed off of each other without the risk of having one overpower the other. This to me comes from a matter of taste. So the question arises…do curators need university training programs?
My response is yes.
In the article by Gabriella Moser she mentions that you can’t really teach a person how to curate because there is no sort form of craft to be learned, like being a sculptor or painter. I do agree that really the only way to learn is in the field, but in my opinion these degree programs are necessary. Acquiring a degree may not provide you with too much hands on experience, but it will give you the knowledge of art history required to develop your own opinion of “good art” while simultaneously exposing you to contacts that will help to enter into this field (social networking). I think that it is great that cities in Canada are developing these post-secondary degrees in efforts to hone in on areas of interest within such a broad field.
On a lighter note, I really enjoyed reading the article by Benjamin Genocchio. It was really refreshing to hear that the art scene is becoming more community based and that more and more young artists are being given opportunities to show.
Sophie Strachan
ReplyDeleteThe article “In Search of the Ultimate” talked about the idea behind the show and the work that would be in it. I wish it hadn’t been 6 years ago because I would’ve liked to attend. It was funny how passionate she was about the difference between art fairs and curated biennials and triennials because I totally understand that frustration, obviously in other ways.
“Do Curators need university curatorial programs?” Well it’s good to hear two sides of the argument and not just a biased article. I don’t think it’s a bad thing for there to be educational programs about curatorial studies. Curatorial studies is a fairly new concept anyway. Obviously you can’t learn about life sitting inside reading from a book but you can apply those things you learn to life when you’re finally out of that box. And when you’re out of that box you’ll learn even more from doing rather than reading.
“The Curator’s Moment” was a long article about curating a biennial. I’ve known that curators were important, but this article stressed that even more. Not only do they create the ideas or themes behind an exhibition they coordinate everything that needs to happen for the exhibition to be successful. They make the artists happy, the audience happy and in return they are happy. And curators are strongly linked to art like the article says because if they didn’t like art, they probably would be crappy curators. Curators themselves are a just another type of artist like musicians or craftsmen.
I really connected with “How an Art Scene Became a Youthscape.” It’s good to know that it is possible for young adults to have successful galleries. Even though it is not the most glamorous life (going broke and asking mom for money) they still are doing what they love and making something out of it. Also I like that they aren’t making art about some big social or political issue. I’ve never been interested in that. All in all it just sounds like a bunch of fun. “It’s all about being happy about whatever you can be happy about… My generation grew up in a time when we didn’t have heroes. You grew up believing you were being hoodwinked and manipulated – and knowing you were, but learning to enjoy it because it came in fun colors or was on MTV.” Exactly.
It was very interesting hearing about the show in “In the Realms of Flight and Fantasy” because that’s something I would be very interested in seeing. The only thing that bothered me about the article was when they were talking about Daniel Ludwig: “I would wager that the main problem here is that the artist, whose pictures are driven not by form but by a strident fantasy life, never learned how to draw.” What? Okay. His paintings are pretty awesome and if he can’t draw he can definitely paint. His “Demoiselles” definitely wasn’t his strongest painting, but still.
Gabrielle Moser’s article was relatively informative, but mostly I found it boring and didn’t take much away from it. I hope curatorial studies programs in school continue to become more diverse and away from the white walls of a gallery, as they have been.
ReplyDeleteI like Laura Hoptman’s idea for a show about life, death and the meaning of the universe. It’s a really interesting, and vastly open topic, really hard to define. I was excited reading about this, but I didn’t find almost any of the pictures of some of the works in the show exciting at all. I guess everyone translates grand ideas totally different.
Lance Esplund is kind of an asshole, but, nonetheless, to each their own. I like the idea of artists paired together – it’s sort of like a collaboration without combining processes. I liked Carla Accardi’s paintings, not really finding them too decorative, and I thought it was bold to say Ludwig was more of a sculpture than a painter. The figures in his paintings definitely come from a sculptural influence, or perhaps inform his sculptures.
It was good to read in Benjamin Genocchio’s article that more artist collectives are happening in historical art cities in the country. I don’t really know if I like the set of up white-cube galleries in Chelsea, though they are not all that way, I think there are too many of them. I’d like to see collectives move OUT of galleries – out of buildings all together, and start making work outside. That would be awesome.
Michael Brenson brought up an interesting tendency about contemporary artists being, more often than not, interested in installation. That made me wonder why that is, and perhaps it is the last “new” idea we have left to offer throughout the long experimented history of art. All kinds of painting and sculpting have already been explored, but changing entire spaces seems to be the most open to new discoveries, and to me, the most exciting.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think that curators should have their own curatorial programs in universities. However, I don’t think that many schools are teaching students the skills that they really need to actually become a successful curator. I do agree that a lot of the knowledge is self taught specifically through hands on training. For example knowing different materials and mediums, the history of art work and the structure of the building that is being exhibited in are all aspects that curators need to be educated in. Anyone can place a framed painting on a wall but if the painting happens to contain asphaltum, you have to hope that the curator will be educated enough to not hang the work right across from direct sunlight, or hang a heavy sculpture on a wall with aluminum studs and pray that it will stay (which happened to me last year for thesis). In order for students to be successful in this field they need to take their education into their own hands and receive instruction elsewhere than a book.I think the best way to do that is for them to participate fine art classes.
ReplyDeleteBrianna Barton
ReplyDeleteSeptember 22, 2010
Critical Discourse
This collection of articles and essays examine how a curator interprets and displays artists’ work. Every gallery, museum, biennial and curator approach art with different mission statements, perspectives and objectives. An artist relies (for the most part) on these individuals to show their work to the public. It is a fascinating role that is often glorified, but simultaneously underestimated.
The Carnegie International is one of the oldest international art shows. Laura Hoptman curated the 2004 International, and centered the show on ideas of “ultimates.” This was an interesting take on contemporary art since, in the last fifteen years, there has been a focus on the autobiographical, the personal, and the everyday. While many curators work with their own set of rules, Hoptman seems to embrace the unexpected that is quite expectable when working with almost 40 contemporary artists. Much of the work surprised her, like Chiho Aoshima’s Tsunami is Dreadful, a forty-foot mural depicting the apocalypse. Her flexibility as a curator and her faith in the artists she works with is something I find encouraging and commendable.
There has been a debate surfacing in reaction to the numerous university curatorial studies programs that have formed in the last decade or so. Before this, many working in the curatorial field started with art history majors at best, and worked their way through the field. Traditionalists find this degree program too easy of an in, while others insist it is a reaction to the growing interests of students. As a student in a CS program myself, I find it extremely beneficial, but I know that nothing could prepare me for curating except hands-on experience. I don’t even want to be a curator, but I have learned enough from the major to inform my work as an artist, and also allow me to realize that the borders between artist and curator are blurring.
“The Curator’s Moment” is a famous article written during the surge of biennials in the late nineties. For many in the art field, the curator of a biennial is as much of a superstar as the artists in the biennial, if not more so. As Robert Storr admitted, biennials have become so large and frequent, that only a “happy few” can actually partake. They become less about the place, the culture, and the people of the place, and more about the international artists they can get. Biennials are never clean, always controversial, political, and, if nothing else, always interesting.
On the other end of the curatorial spectrum, is the art dealer sleeping in his gallery. “How an Art Scene Became a Youthscape,” by Benjamin Genocchio, looks at this phenomena, especially within the New Art Dealers Alliance, NADA. NADA is comprised of around 50 art dealers, from their mid-20s to mid-30s, who have built an art dealing force in New York of young dealers selling the work of young artists. Some scrounge by, with part time jobs and family assistance, eventually working their way up to larger, more lucrative galleries. I admire this determination and dedication. Why work through the curatorial ladder when you can just open your own gallery and show what you like? Who cares if you have to sleep in the space?
The last article is by art critic Lance Esplund. It’s a pretty basic review of a few shows that deal with the fantastical and the surreal. The artists’ work is not entirerly their own, once it is in the hands of the curator and in front of the critic. Calder and Tanguy never asked for their work to be shown together, but the curator found it necessary to show present their work within the context of the other. For better or for worse the curator has control over how the viewer receives the work.
The Gennochio piece on NADA was fun to read. NADA to me is a hipster curatorial collective, but it is genius! Studio apartments in lieu of white-cube gallery spaces shows a curators creativity instead of solely focusing on the artists. The part that I found interesting was that these curators where also employed, or where employed, at large scale recognized galleries. New Art Dealers Alliance...more like Guerilla Art Dealers Alliance.
ReplyDeleteOuch! Lance Esplund is a tough critic. Bashing MOMA's paired exhibitions, saying the connections were "to simple" and "did no favors to the artists," is a very bold but honest move. Then moving on to the Accardi show where he claims Accardi's paintings are "not fully developed" and "never rise above the merely decorative." I personally would be mortified if I was given a bad review in the WSJ but Esplund finishes his reviews with the Ludwig show at Allan Stone. According to Explund, Ludwig "is unable to combine his many sources into believable
wholes" and he does not have a "knack for sculpture" and never learned to draw." I'm already a bit critical when auditing shows and exhibitions, but after reading these reviews I will look more into the connections between works and artists shown in paired exhibitions.
Curator Laura Hoptman, who was interviewed by Roberta Fallon made a very interesting point about the contemporary curatorial theme or micro vs. macro. After closely reading Hoptman, I understand that micro can be seen as personal, autobiographical, or local and community driven. Where in the contrary macro looks at the bigger picture, perhaps on a more international level.
"But how possible is it to train curators when their work is not exclusively based on craft?" I have a biased projection on collegiate curatorial programs, because I have only seen Moore's young program first hand. I feel Moore encounters intelligent steps such as obligating students to participate in foundation classes and some fine arts courses, because it would be impossible to curate work if you have no perception of different materials. I do feel however no matter what the program, practical hands on experience is crucial! As soon as students enter their major they should begin aiding in the curatorial process.
Lauren Bergrud
ReplyDeleteRoberta Fallon
The thing that stood out to me the most in Roberta Fallon’s interview with Laura Hoptman was the element of surprise when organizing an international exhibition. Hoptman was hesitant to accept Chilho Aoshima’s proposal because it was an apocalypse instead of a utopia. Hoptman could have easily rejected the idea that wasn’t fitting in her original plan, which could have changed to dynamic of the entire show. But she didn’t, she made it work.
Gabrielle Moser
If you can’t teach someone to curate then you can’t teach some one art. Art does have a craft sensibility that curating may, not but there is some sort of science to it. Curating is in a sense an art form of its own; it is a way to experience art. It is a statement that manifests through the grouping of different artist or different works of art. The only problem with making a curatorial program in universities is that it will create a demand for that certificate in order to be hired. If a person has a solid working knowledge of the art of today they may be just a qualified as someone who has a degree in curatorial studies. Making curatorial studies a degree program may make it more difficult to get a job in that field, but it should be recognized as a career path.
One other thing that grabbed my attention was the sentence: “…they produce objects or experiences that are in some way distinct from commodities produced in the mass market.” Isn’t art a commodity?
Benjamin Genocchio
This article leaves hope for those who believe that just because things are a certain way doesn’t mean they have to stay that way. It is always good to hear people my age are achieving what they want through alternative means. Being resourceful grantees survival.
Lance Esplund
This article described how curating can be an art. One element of a successful art show is that it combines the work of two artist in the same room that may not normally been seen together. The work reacts to each other and continues to live without the artist.
Mallory Lawson
ReplyDeleteThe two articles that I found most interesting were “Do Curators Need University Curatorial Programs?” and “How An Art Scene Became A Youthscape.”
“Do Curators Need University Curatorial Program?” This article posed the question “can you teach someone how to curate?” I immediately thought this was kind of ridiculous, and wondered what type of person would even think that you were born knowing how to curate? With visual artists, there is usually the intrinsic need to physically express yourself through the creation of artwork, I can’t speak for curators but I don’t feel like they were born with the desire to select and organize group shows or conduct studio visits or write critical essays on art. With visual artists, a fine art university program helps to solidify basic fundamental skills, educate on the history of
“ art and refine their creation process. For the most part, I feel like a curator needs those exact same skills. Over all I felt like the real point of this article was to try and sell these particular programs in Canada, although I thought it raised an interesting point about “teaching curators.”
“How An Art Scene Became A Youthscape” was a really interesting article, written six years ago, while NADA was in a really early stage. After reading the article, I searched for NADA and found that a lot of galleries I frequent in New York as well as galleries that I’m familiar with through out the country were members. Being a young and emerging artist it is also helpful and inspiring to read about young people stepping out, sacrificing, and trying to create something of their own. Aside from that, it is kind of amazing how NADA helped these young galleries grow, especially with the Miami art fair.
The reading this week seemed to deal with galleries and curating. I found them very interesting, and the "How An Art Scene Became A Youthscape" was exciting to me. It is not uncommon for a young artist to have the idea of making their own gallery and showing their work, but it is less likely that they would actually do it. I could only imagine sleeping on the floor of my house to run a gallery, but I am glad someone is ambitious enough to do it. It seems more people are making galleries are viewing art is becoming more accessible to the public, not to mention more opportunity for the artist to show their work. I know of a few young artist that have made their own galleries and it makes me glad that people are able to do this. I would like to make my own gallery out of my house if I were able to but unfortunately I do not have to resources to do so. To me the idea is a very proud and positive one, more forcing people to view their art, making their own opportunities and, creating opportunities for others instead of relying on someone else. I liked reading the articles about curating, firstly because I am not very knowledgeable about curating, but they had a lot of information in them. Do Curators Need University Curatorial Programs was an odd article to me, and seemed a little spiteful, but the points the author made were funny to me. Mainly that you could not teach people how to curate, it was something that could not be learned, and had to come naturally and from experience, but isn't that true with a lot of professions? You can't teach an artist to create art, you can teach the techniques and how to maybe improve something, but not everyone can create art. The Curator’s Moment was sort of made points to me why there should be curating major, since people are having meeting to discuss changes in curating and new methods.
ReplyDeleteIn the Realms of Flight and Fantasy was interesting to read. I love the idea of pairing artists together in a show, either contrasting or complementing, it intrigues me. I actually wanted to collaborate with a 3d artist just to see what we could do with a given space. I found the collage at the end by Daniel Ludwig was really successful. He took old paintings and collaged them together; its kind of the same idea just manifested two dimensionally. I recent had a project where I had to pair similar images or objects together, this reminds me of that. As a dichotomy.
ReplyDeleteI think it is acceptable to have university curatorial programs and receive a degree; it is like any other profession. I can understand that it can take raw talent but isn’t that whet we are doing? We all have degrees of talent but we are in school to learn and grow, make connections and beef up our resumes. Having a degree looks better than not.
How an Art Scene Became a Youthscape was a great read. Setting up shop in your home has been a reoccurring theme in my life. My father used to have people over in our stone built Germantown home growing up. He would have friend’s family and others artist comes see his work. It is now a new thing for new emerging artist takes for example, the projects gallery or numerous collectives starting to spring up. I want to do that with some fellow peers after graduation, and have joint shows and viewings.
I must say it is easy for a “makeshift” gallery space to look really shoddy and amateur. I think either go for the old funky shabby chic look or really rehab the place, there really shouldn’t be a medium because it gets confusing
It is interesting to step back and look at my and my peers generation of artists, what the trends are, what’s going on in the world at the time, which reminds me of “In Search of the Ultimate” and how we are getting our work shown and seen this makes me think of the, this sums it up for me, "The bottom line," he added, "was that I really wanted to have a gallery, and sometimes you just have to start doing something with whatever you have at your disposal."
Caitlin Tucker
ReplyDeleteHoptman: This piece really made me excited to read. It hits on the exact reasons I find curating so crucial and so interesting. The idea that curating is more than “just gathering together the best-known artists and vending them” is exactly what has always drawn me in. It is about connections, and different ways of seeing, while also trying to be as true to the art object as possible. It reminds me of reading about the conservator Christian Scheidemann who says that above all, beyond the demands of the collector or the artist even, he makes sure he is true to the object. I believe this is the most essential part of any curator, conservator or other art workers job. It is also about making the object “useful,” making it something that people feel they needed to see. The ways available to curators today to combine objects and create new narratives is increasingly growing wilder, and I love that. Beyond the daily grind of dealing with the risks of curating, like having an artist present you with work you didn’t quite expect, there is the chance to present artwork in a way that means “the largest number of people” can have that connection to the work. Which is without a doubt the best part.
NADA: After spending the summer interning for a young commercial gallery in NYC where I learned that curating is barely thought of and money is the ultimate goal, this article doesn’t really hit me on the right note. It comes off as this celebration of the young and hip, making money on their own terms. To me that isn’t curating. Though it is obviously great when artists can sell their work and gain recognition through galleries like this, it is still not curating in the terms of having an idea that relates various artworks and asks questions. It is about money, and who can make some.
Esplund: This article begins to touch on the idea of comparison exhibitions, but doesn’t fully delve into the pitfalls and benefits. Blockbuster exhibitions miss the mark often, and are definitely being challenged and considered by many curators. This is more an issue between the institution looking to make money off of well-known artists and the curators who must attempt to make the exhibition into an intellectual whole. Though in theory these exhibitions can be really interesting, often they are too overblown and too overcrowded to hit the mark they seek.
Brenson: This article is exactly why I feel so strongly that curatorial teaching programs are absolutely valid and necessary. The notion of presentation being incumbent upon the curator, as when it comes to displaying art from different cultures, is huge. Rather than a narrowed field of art historical knowledge, here is a moment where a nuanced, yet wide knowledge of modes of display and dialogues between cultures and their artwork is necessary. The fact that things are changing in regards to displaying work from other cultures, providing the background necessary to appreciate the work on its own terms, is, to me, a particularly interesting facet of modern day curating. There is also the discussion of curator as artist and the lines blurred there. It is a particularly challenging idea to approach because while certain creativities are necessary to being a curator now, there still needs to be definitive lines that keep the curator from using the artwork as their own medium or being in anyway “untrue” to the artwork.
Caitlin Tucker
ReplyDeleteMoser: As a double major in Curatorial Studies & 2DFA planning to find a way to do everything, this continued idea that curating can’t be taught absolutely drives me crazy. The same exact argument can be made for artists, if you’re in a school setting, you are not yet in the real world dealing with relationships to real people or the reality of making work without deadlines. Real world experience is given import because you eventually spend more time in the real world, but the time spent in school developing interests, form and ideas is just as crucial. And the idea that one must slog through the minefield of an institution to learn about curating and make a place for oneself, as the only way to become a curator is absurd. The expansion of the role of the curator to include a host of hats is exactly the reason we must teach people, if not the nuts and bolts of everyday curating work, at least the mindset and ways of thinking (not to be confused though with the idea that there is only one mindset, it is more about a way of open thinking that allows all possibilities) required for such acrobatics of roles. Not to mention the sheer amount of art history/theory that should be introduced that will allow future curators to present well thought out, reasoned exhibition ideas. I also completely disagree with the idea that I hear from many people that any artist can be a curator (which continues to assume that curating needn’t be taught). Though crossover between artist and curator often serves to make a stronger artist/curator, it does not mean all artists can set aside the artist’s mindset to develop a strong show or that any curator could paint something beautiful just because they know about form and color. There is a lot that must be learned hands on for curating, like working on grants (which hopefully comes from a good internship or beginning job), but there is also plenty to be taught about the process of making ideas viable. In our classes for Curatorial Studies, it is constantly questioned, why is that a show? Are you being the artist in this situation or the curator? Where is your support for these ideas and their connection? Who is your audience? What are you saying to them? How do you make this work? Learning to think in this way from a school setting where you aren’t yet handling expensive work or dealing with real relationships between artist and institution, we are given a chance to develop ideas fully, learn a new way of thinking and really consider all aspects necessary for a fully developed, intelligent exhibition all in an atmosphere that is supportive and allows questioning and mistakes. We are also taught to question the very nature of what we are doing as curators. As the times rapidly hurtle forward, institutions must change along with the people who run them. The way curating has been done for years; will it hold up for another 10? 15? 5? In a tour of the new Live Cinema show at the PMA yesterday, curator Adelina Vlas showed the group contemporary video works from the Middle East, three of which are situated in the textiles and period rooms of the second floor. This insertion of contemporary works in the encyclopedic rooms, (rather than an intervention because they were discrete objects selected by the curator), is in many ways a sign of our times. Young curators from new university programs saw this challenge and thought, yes this makes sense and this works, what we are saying here adds value to all the objects affected and brings new questions to the front. If curating were only taught in the field, curating would become stagnant, as many institutions would continue to require things to be done as they always have been. If nothing else, university programs about curating serve to stimulate outdated modes of thinking and working while providing potential curators with the art historical and theory-based background that will help them, their ideas and the institutions they enter continue to grow.
As a person who knows very little about the actual field of curating, I think it was difficult for me to read these articles as critically as I have others. Mostly, despite sometimes conflicting points of view, they were informative and gave me some insight into what it means to curate.
ReplyDeleteI think my feeling about the question of school-smarts versus street smarts (as it applies to curatorial studies but also as a larger debate) is this: I doubt either a degree or field experience are as strong alone as would be the combination. I'm a firm believer in balance, and in the case of academics and real-world experience, I think each enhances the success of the other.
I was the most inspired by the articles about the Youthscape in the art world today and about Hoptman's experience organizing the International exhibition. This is because I am drawn to the unplanned, figure-it-out-as-you-go potential for artistic ventures--it brings a sometimes precocious art scene to a more refreshing and relatable human level. As a young artist, how could I not be inspired by the idea that the art world is a place to apply my ideals and observe the results, to try things out that perhaps have very little traction historically? And that notion that the young art scene is driving this trend towards community-oriented and sometimes anti-establishment/anti-status quo art just makes me drool!
Also, I think the dialogue between the pieces in the 2004 Carnegie International would have been exciting to explore as a viewer (or as Hoptman!), because the global themes Hoptman chose for the show meant that any culturally-specific elements in the art would have to be the choice of the artist. I love the idea that art allows for a communication between cultures that is not necessarily bound by the etiquette and taboos that frame cross-cultural conversations in other disciplines.
I did not get so much out of the article that discussed comparative exhibitions. It seems obvious to me that any time you connect two (especially seemingly unrelated) things, whether it be artists or actual disciplines, growth and learning take place, and that a curator can either make safe (and less informative) comparisons or really stretch the assumptions of the audience.
I felt a little like I was in over my head in this article, simply because of the quantity of new information I was learning all at once. That being said, Brenson's take on the curatorial symposium she witnessed was enlightening and she presented her information very clearly. I don't feel I have the language to critique this article, but I was excited by what Brenson said about the boundaries and binaries that are being called into question in this particular artistic moment: curator/artist, global/singular communities, revealing/hiding...
Courtney Coolbaugh
ReplyDeleteThis week we read about several different kinds of art exhibitions and the responsibility of the curator. We read about how there has been a resurgence of “pairings”, and how the artists in the exhibitions need to be coupled right so the connections made between the two are complementary rather than competitive. When Lance Esplund talked about the retrospective show of Carla Accardi, he mentioned all of the different mediums she had worked with, including many abstract paintings that he did not care for. Maybe it is important for the curator of a retrospective to concentrate on what an artist does best rather than what she does most. We read about how Laura Hoptman, the curator for the “Carnegie International”, was putting together an exhibition of 400 works by 38 different artists from around the world while being aware of the international political weather at the time of the show. 28 of the 38 artists were still making new pieces for this theme-based exhibit concentrating on “life’s ultimates”. Hoptman said that curating is more than bringing together all the well-known artists and “vending” them. She said that no art fair could ever take the place of a show where the curator can help the viewer connect the dots between different bodies of work. This example of curating is very different from the article we read about all the new galleries in Chelsea, NY that were being run by current or recent grad students. Most of these art dealers had been running a gallery right out of their studio apartments and are currently working collectively with other dealers. The focus of their exhibits is more about expressing the ideas and experiences of their generation and less about money. The article written by Gabrielle Moser focused on whether curators needed a degree in curatorial studies that focuses on art theory and contemporary culture or if this job is best understood through first-hand experience. It explains how the responsibilities and duties of a curator are very broad and include not only organizing exhibitions, but also coordinating speakers and writing essays.
Shannon Toale
ReplyDeleteI found the article by Roberta Fallon about Carnegie International very interesting. I am currently headed in a direction with my work that I have started exploring death and the symbolism and beliefs that come along with it based on different cultures. It is a very intimidated and dark topic to dive in to. It was very inspiring to read about so much artists coming together to attempt to describe “the ultimates”. I also loved that the ultimate exhibition was filled with many types of different art from animated videos to anime murals.
I think that the article “Do Curators Need University Curatorial Programs” had some interesting points. I found it interesting because I for a short time seriously considered changing my major to curatorial studies. After seeking advice from many artists who’s opinions I trust, I felt it was best to choose 2D instead. While I think curatorial studies programs is an interesting concept, there really is no way of knowing if they actually help curators move quickly in to their chosen field. It is such a new idea that there really is know way of knowing if the idea is successful or just a money ploy to convince people they need a degree when what you really need to do is start from the bottom and work your way up through real-world experience. Personally, I feel like a degree in art history could prepare a student just as much if not more then a degree in curatorial studies because a career like that requires as much art history knowledge as possible along with some strong creative instinct and street smarts.
I also found the article about NADA very interesting. It is very exciting to read about young people starting up such a successful organization and working to get young artists and galleries promoted and successful.
Reading the articles about curators is very important in the art world. Its good to have the knowledge and the background on what they do and in some ways it is in someways extremely hard to do. Last semester for my Photography class we went to the Academy of Natural Sciences to speak to a curator who designed the show for one of the photographers who takes pictures of animals. She said its a hard job trying to fit things into certain spaces. You have to try and make it work. Sometimes you don't have a lot of advantages that all the works can fit so they have to start eliminating pieces that don't fit. I think every artist should know how to curate their own show or at least know what to do. I feel that all universities should have a curator because there is always some type of work that goes up in the schools itself. I think its amazing that now young artist are doing this and it is a great way to get their foot in the door to get their own works of art up in a gallery someday.
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