MTU Library Catalogue

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When artists curate : contemporary art and the exhibition as medium / Alison Green.

By: Green, Alison (Art historian) [author.].
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookSeries: Art since the 80s: Publisher: London : Reaktion Books, 2018Copyright date: ©2018Description: 295 pages : illustrations (some colour) ; 20 cm.Content type: text | still image Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 1780239335 (paperback); 9781780239330 (paperback).Subject(s): Artists as art museum curators | Curatorship | Art -- Exhibition techniquesDDC classification: 708
Contents:
Introduction : when artists curate -- A brief history of artists curating before the 1980s -- Experimenting with and without curators -- Museums and not-museums -- Authoring -- Habitus -- Open works -- Displays of criticality -- Conclusion : the exhibition as medium.
Summary: "An increasing proportion of exhibitions are curated by artists rather than professional curators. In this ground-breaking book Alison Green provides the first critical history of visual artists curating exhibitions. The artist emerges as someone who carries a special responsibility for critiquing art's institutions, brings considerable creativity to the craft of making exhibitions and, through experimentation, has changed the way exhibitions are understood to be authored and experienced. But the book also establishes a curious ubiquity to the artist-curated exhibition. Rather than being exceptional or rare, artists curate all the time and in all kinds of places: in galleries and in museums, in studios, in borrowed spaces such as shopfronts or industrial buildings, in front rooms and front windows, in zoos or concert halls, on streets and in nature. Seen from the perspective of artists, showing is a part of making art. Once this idea is understood, the history of art starts to look very different. With extensive explorations of well-known artists such as Daniel Buren, Goshka Macuga, Thomas Hirschhorn, Rosemarie Trockel, Hito Steyerl, Andy Warhol and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, this book will change the way readers think about and look at exhibitions" - back cover.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

An increasing proportion of exhibitions are curated by artists rather than professional curators, and in this book Alison Green provides the first critical history of visual artists as curators. Green's curatorial artist emerges as a seemingly contradictory figure: someone who carries a special responsibility for critiquing art's institutions, for bringing considerable creativity to the craft of making exhibitions and, through experimentation, someone who has changed the way exhibitions are understood to be authored and experienced--but at the same time, someone who is curiously ubiquitous.



Rather than portraying artist curators as exceptional or rare, Green establishes the fact that artists curate all the time and in all kinds of places: in galleries and in museums, in studios, in borrowed spaces such as shopfronts or industrial buildings, in front rooms and front windows, in zoos or concert halls, on streets and in nature. Seen from the perspective of artists, showing is a part of making art. Once this idea is understood, the story of art starts to look very different. Beautifully illustrated and featuring in-depth explorations of the work of revered artist curators like Daniel Buren, Goshka Macuga, Thomas Hirschhorn, Rosemarie Trockel, Hito Steyerl, Andy Warhol, and Félix González-Torres, When Artists Curate will change the way we think about and look at exhibitions.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-281) and index.

Introduction : when artists curate -- A brief history of artists curating before the 1980s -- Experimenting with and without curators -- Museums and not-museums -- Authoring -- Habitus -- Open works -- Displays of criticality -- Conclusion : the exhibition as medium.

"An increasing proportion of exhibitions are curated by artists rather than professional curators. In this ground-breaking book Alison Green provides the first critical history of visual artists curating exhibitions. The artist emerges as someone who carries a special responsibility for critiquing art's institutions, brings considerable creativity to the craft of making exhibitions and, through experimentation, has changed the way exhibitions are understood to be authored and experienced. But the book also establishes a curious ubiquity to the artist-curated exhibition. Rather than being exceptional or rare, artists curate all the time and in all kinds of places: in galleries and in museums, in studios, in borrowed spaces such as shopfronts or industrial buildings, in front rooms and front windows, in zoos or concert halls, on streets and in nature. Seen from the perspective of artists, showing is a part of making art. Once this idea is understood, the history of art starts to look very different. With extensive explorations of well-known artists such as Daniel Buren, Goshka Macuga, Thomas Hirschhorn, Rosemarie Trockel, Hito Steyerl, Andy Warhol and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, this book will change the way readers think about and look at exhibitions" - back cover.

MTU Cork Module ARTS9005 - Recommended reading.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Introduction: When Artists Curate (p. 7)
  • 1 A Brief History of Artists Curating Before the 1980s (p. 29)
  • 2 Experimenting with and Without Curators (p. 62)
  • 3 Museums and Not-Museums (p. 91)
  • 4 Authoring (p. 121)
  • 5 Habitus (p. 149)
  • 6 Open Works (p. 187)
  • 7 Displays of Criticality (p. 211)
  • Conclusion: The Exhibition as Medium (p. 237)
  • References (p. 249)
  • Select Bibliography (p. 277)
  • Acknowledgements (p. 282)
  • Photo Acknowledgements (p. 284)
  • Index (p. 287)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Alison Green is an art historian, critic, curator, and course leader of Masters in Culture, Criticism, and Curation Program at Central Saint Martins, London.