Curationism

• Verfasst von: Balzer, David
• Titel: Curationism
• Titelzusatz: how curating took over the art world and everything else
• Verf.angabe: David Balzer
• Ausgabe: 1. ed., 2. printing
• Verlagsort: Toronto
• Verlag: Coach House Books
• Jahr: 2014
• Umfang: 141 S
• Format: 19 cm
• Gesamttitel/Reihe: Exploded views
• ISBN: 978-1-55245-299-8
• ISBN: 1-55245-299-9
• Schlagwörter: (s)Kurator <Museumskunde> / (z)Geschichte
• Schlagwörter: (s)Kunst / (s)Museum / (s)Ausstellung / (s)Präsentation / (s)Kunstbetrieb / (s)Kunstmarkt
• Sprache: eng
• RVK-Notation: AK 86500
• K10plus-PPN: 81980312X

Abstract

Now that we 'curate' even lunch, what happens to the role of the connoisseur in contemporary culture? 'Curate' is now a buzzword applied to everything from music festivals to artisanal cheese. Inside the art world, the curator reigns supreme, acting as the face of high-profile group shows and biennials in a way that can eclipse and assimilate the contributions of individual artists. At the same time, curatorial studies programs continue to grow in popularity, and businesses are increasingly adopting curation as a means of adding value to content and courting demographics. Everyone, it seems, is a now a curator. But what is a curator, exactly? And what does the explosive popularity of curating say about our culture's relationship with taste, labour and the avant-garde? In this incisive and original study, critic David Balzer travels through art history and around the globe to explore the cult of curation - where it began, how it came to dominate museums and galleries, and how it was co-opted at the turn of the millennium as the dominant mode of organizing and giving value to content. At the centre of the book is a paradox: curation is institutionalized and expertise-driven like never before, yet the first independent curators were not formally trained, and any act of choosing has become 'curating.' Is the professional curator an oxymoron? Has curation reached a sort of endgame, where its widespread fetishization has led to its own demise?