Curation : The American critic, Lucy Lippard, once remarked on the way conceptual art in the 1960s blended together the 'studio' and the 'study' in a manner that affected her own practice as a critic, almost to the point where she was accused of becoming an artist herself (1) A similar point could be made today if we include, as part of that list, the 'gallery' and the 'museum.' To coin a phrase, there has been over the last twenty years in the art world a 'curating turn.' (2) The number of academic courses, institutions, careers, positions, publications, various events and discourses devoted to this subject and the rise of the appellation curated by, have increased dramatically. In addition there is a cross fertilisation between the very different roles of museum curator, free-lance curator, galleries, arts facilitator, artist, critic and art academic. The British artist/critic, Peter Suchin, has suggested that the rise of the curator should be seen 'as a kind of revenge enacted upon artists for having ideas above their station in the 60s and 70s when conceptual artists dared to challenge the authority and power of the gallery system by taking control of or at least having a full involvement in the production, distribution and critical exchanges surrounding their work. (3)
For myself, this explosion of interest in and claims to the term 'curator,' does not overly concern me, apart from the convenience of the label. Put simply, for me curating (if that is the right term for the exhibitions at Amiens, Nîmes and Rochdale) is about constructing a conversation between images, objects, arrangements and spaces that opens up ideas about history and meanings over time (historiography). Such 'visual' conversations are often best formed by actual conversations among collaborators and co-curators. I have been extremely fortunate at Amiens and Nîmes to have worked closely with Barry Barker. His thoughtful 'eye' and vast curatorial experience contributed greatly to and in many ways influenced the final look of both interventions. On each occasion we wrote, researched, conceived, cajoled, tested situations, collaborated, designed and brought into being an exhibition and publication. Somehow we thought of this process as an art practice, a practice that was an act of witnessing and imagining.(4)
(1) Cited in Irene Calderoni, 'Creating Shows: Some notes on Exhibition Aesthetics at the End of the Sixties,' in Paul O'Neill (Ed), Curating Subjects, London, Open Editions, 2007, p.78.
(2) This term is my own coinage and meant as a parallel to what is termed 'the linguistic turn' in the humanities. The term 'discursive turn' is also used within the arts to indicate or suggest a turn to language in the practices of the visual arts, including curating. See Mick Wilson, 'Curatorial Moments and Discursive turns,' in Paul O'Neill (Ed), Curating Subjects, London, 2007, pp. 202-216.
(3) Pilot:1, International Art Forum, DOUBLEPLUSGOOD Books. London 2004, pp. 48-49.
(4) For an interesting discussion of this process see Barry Barker, Postscript: Scenes from a Posthumous Wilderness, in Between Two Heads, Musée Des Beaux Arts, CCVA, Nîmes and Brighton, 2007, pp. 61-63.
Compared to the above, below are two more straightforward curation projects, also concerned with history but as seen in the work of contemporary artists. These were, William Kentridge: Fragile Identities, 2007-8 and Circumstantial Evidence, 1996.
For myself, this explosion of interest in and claims to the term 'curator,' does not overly concern me, apart from the convenience of the label. Put simply, for me curating (if that is the right term for the exhibitions at Amiens, Nîmes and Rochdale) is about constructing a conversation between images, objects, arrangements and spaces that opens up ideas about history and meanings over time (historiography). Such 'visual' conversations are often best formed by actual conversations among collaborators and co-curators. I have been extremely fortunate at Amiens and Nîmes to have worked closely with Barry Barker. His thoughtful 'eye' and vast curatorial experience contributed greatly to and in many ways influenced the final look of both interventions. On each occasion we wrote, researched, conceived, cajoled, tested situations, collaborated, designed and brought into being an exhibition and publication. Somehow we thought of this process as an art practice, a practice that was an act of witnessing and imagining.(4)
(1) Cited in Irene Calderoni, 'Creating Shows: Some notes on Exhibition Aesthetics at the End of the Sixties,' in Paul O'Neill (Ed), Curating Subjects, London, Open Editions, 2007, p.78.
(2) This term is my own coinage and meant as a parallel to what is termed 'the linguistic turn' in the humanities. The term 'discursive turn' is also used within the arts to indicate or suggest a turn to language in the practices of the visual arts, including curating. See Mick Wilson, 'Curatorial Moments and Discursive turns,' in Paul O'Neill (Ed), Curating Subjects, London, 2007, pp. 202-216.
(3) Pilot:1, International Art Forum, DOUBLEPLUSGOOD Books. London 2004, pp. 48-49.
(4) For an interesting discussion of this process see Barry Barker, Postscript: Scenes from a Posthumous Wilderness, in Between Two Heads, Musée Des Beaux Arts, CCVA, Nîmes and Brighton, 2007, pp. 61-63.
Compared to the above, below are two more straightforward curation projects, also concerned with history but as seen in the work of contemporary artists. These were, William Kentridge: Fragile Identities, 2007-8 and Circumstantial Evidence, 1996.
The exhibition was held at the University of Brighton Gallery and in the Regency Town House, Brighton Nov 2007-Jan 2008.It was jointly curated by the cultural theorist and political activist, Tom Hickey and artist-curator Peter Seddon. A notable point about the exhibition was its use of the University Gallery windows to project Kentridge's films overnight onto the street. Stereoscopic prints never before seen in Britain were also displayed in the University Gallery and an anamorphic projection and prints displayed in the Regency Town house. Tom Hickey produced and edited the catalogue (190 pages) which contained 98 colour illustrations. The catalogue contained an introduction by Tom Hickey and five contextualising essays by Tom Hickey, Mick Hartney, Peter Seddon, Mark Abel andJessica Dubow + Ruth Rosengarten. There were also written entries for sequences of individual prints and animated films. The exhibition was supported by Brighton University Faculty of Arts and a substantial grant from ACE. The catalogue is available via the Brighton University Gallery/SBT website.
This exhibition was held at the University of Brighton Gallery in 1996. It was curated jointly by art historian/critic David Green and Peter Seddon. The exhibition consisted of newly commissioned work from Terry Atkinson, Willie Doherty and John Goto. The catalogue contained critical essays on the exhibition theme by David Green, Peter Seddon and Terry Atkinson. John Goto provided extensive iconographic notes about the works he displayed. The catalogue is available via the Brighton University Gallery/SBT website.