BIOGRAPHY

PROJECTS

“Not why there are bad shows, but how the curator messes it up for the artists”
 
Jan Christensen
 
My experience of working as an artist and curator has spurred a number of critical ideas about art, including arguments that would contradict the respective positions, including my own practice. These colliding notions of practices and attitudes stem from an impression of superficiality on various levels, political and economic concerns, and personal matters, rather than really challenging ideas about art and its dialectics.
 
Then, of course, I am only too aware of Pierre Bourdieu’s description of society, culture and its economy and structures. This does depress me because we are only supporting the system, ultimately continuing a production of art which only reproduces the same kind of “progressive” work and ideas that we are all so familiar with in various ways. It’s quite too simple.
 
As an artist, I practice in this way as well. But I would like to think that I am self-conscious enough to be seeking a way out, though it causes a dilemma in my way of thinking. The fact that I also depend on this system generates both self-loathing and disdain for the power structures of the art world.
 
Ever since Dada we have had the notion of the artist as a negator, someone who is trying to break down the idea of art itself, and bring it down from its high position in the cultural society. We are probably very familiar with the idea of the artist versus the institution, or the artist as an outsider. But today, so-called institutional critique is an established movement that the museums of modern art has embraced with joy. The fact is that we have gone full circle on the critical aspect of art.
 
The galleries, institutions, biennials and large-scale exhibitions of today repeat themselves already in our minds - in our expectations, dreaming of the new and the sensational - but also often recirculation certain artists and adapting to models of exhibition display and established ways of organizing. I consider the claim of “idealism” that is so easily expressed, to be nothing but naivety and inability to understand the importance of what is being presented, and that art is no different than the politics and business of the real world.
 
The assumption that there is a crisis of big exhibitions is of course a generalization, but it could be considered in relation to the discussions of defining the audiences of such venues, the impressions of the visitors and thus the actual effect of such exhibitions. Are these shows too big for the visitor to grasp or are they too big for the organizing team?
 
Personally, I would like to see shows with determined curators with an artistic agenda inspired by the conflicts of art. Examples would be the discussions of artists and theorists in the 60’s and 70’s such as Donald Judd and Michael Fried regarding Minimalism, and a show such as Harald Szeemann’s “When Attitudes Become Form: Works - Concepts - Processes - Situations - Information” at Kunsthaus Berne, Switzerland (1969), which was a precisely curated show, crystallizing into Art Povera, Land Art, Minimalism and Conceptual Art. In recent years in Europe, Nicolas Bourriaud set out to define what we now describe as Relational Aesthetics, and I admire that urge to articulate an artistic movement, just as I appreciate Clement Greenberg’s support and conviction for Abstract Expressionism. Also, the touring exhibition “Cities on the Move” (1997-2000) by Hans-Ulrich Obrist and Hou Hanru, represented an interesting, fragmented and playful view on Asian culture and the booming societies of the east, including the exhibition structure/model and its adaptability and temporariness as the exhibition changed during its relocations.
 
The curator represents a catalyst in the machinery of the art world. She or he is someone with an overview of the contemporary art scene combined with an understanding of the art history and often holds knowledge of a range of other humanistic sciences and interests. At the moment of collaborating, these parties meet and discuss ideas and details, often with the mutual acknowledgement that the artist will operate creatively, but independently, in relation to a theme and the defined context of the exhibition. At this point I would like to imagine the possibility of the responsibilities of the curator overlapping with those of the artist. In my view, the position of the curator holds all the possibilities of the artist, and many more, in the sense that I regard the artist only as a tool, and the work of the artist as pieces in a puzzle. I’d like to imagine the curator as a direct aid to the artist, having the curator working closely with the artist; identifying the problems of the artist in order to help produce new work. The curator does not only select work for display and imagines the layout of the show, but even suggests ideas and commissions certain work. This could help express the specific theme and influence the understanding of the exhibition. The curator should not leave the artist alone with her or his ideas. The young curator Jens Hoffmann, has initiated several interesting exhibitions and projects that I think follow these lines. Some of his ideas are only propositions or publications, and he has arranged exhibitions that are not only single installments, but which will be several series of exhibitions by the same artists over the course of several years. This is very interesting and positive because it means investing in relationships over longer periods which might inspire new possibilities in thinking and working.
 
Specifically for the Bucharest Biennial I would propose a group of Romanian curators with some knowledge and experience from abroad. There could be foreign curators as well, but they should be expected to move to the city for the period of the preparations and possibly for the duration of the show in order to be fully responsible and creatively engaged, both conceptually and practically. Exhibitions fail successively because of the curator’s lack of practical involvement and understanding of technical limitations and the actual conditions of the respective spaces or venues of the exhibitions. Imagine the role of the artist, get out of your office!
 
Though Romania has an amazing history of its own, for obvious reasons modern art practice might still seem new to many. But I am not sure if there is actually need for brute force when introducing contemporary art and a biennial of modern art. I am personally intrigued by the idea of a biennial of culture rather than only visual art; collaborating with institutions and groups ranging from theatre, film, concert halls and clubs, to even sports! I imagine artists creating backdrops for performances in the theatre or decorating stadiums of sports. The Biennial’s championship of chess could be held in a museum with the right facilities - including some art that might stimulate the thinking... And there is the idea of joining up with radio or television, for which artists could be commissioned to produce new work for in-between programs or after-hours broadcasts. I would even propose that one could research the possibilities of getting sponsorship from some of the companies behind the large-scale advertisements that cover multiple facades in the centre of Bucharest, and have some of these areas available for artistic expressions [as an example, Samsung owns one of the biggest private museums and collections of contemporary art in South-Korea called the Leeum Museum].
 
There should be no age limit for people involved, but the works should be new and intended for the biennial in particular, and participants could be invited from anywhere. But I would think that it is important to put an emphasis on local resources, only spice it up with some sympathetic international high-lights, to really generate enthusiasm and attendance. If collaborations with institutions and other organizations are possible, they might generate bigger budgets for productions, increase the number of venues (including traditional white cube galleries), and actually save funds and organizing efforts for extra expenses and moments of stress which are unavoidable for such a big project.
 
It would be my hope that this would kick-start and inspire the local community as well as show a different attitude to the organizing of exhibitions and biennials today.

BIBLIOGRAPHY