Curating.info

- Following the controversy after David Wojnarowicz's work was removed from an exhibition organised by the Smithsonian, and AA Bronson tried to remove his work from the same show in protest, Maura Judkis traces an instance where Wojnarowicz himself tried to remove a work from an exhibition. The case is fascinating and presents counterpoints from the curator's point of view. In 1990, Wojnarowicz tried to remove his work from the exhibition "Art What Thou Eat", curated by Linda Weintraub. In an email interview about both cases she says: "Complying with Wojnarowicz's demand carries a ludicrous implication. It would mean that curators of group shows could only select artists whose sexuality, lifestyles, or political opinions are companionable." and: "An exhibition is a creative expression that deserves the same respect and protection as an individual work of art." Read the full article for a curator's point of view on the removal of artworks from exhibitions.

- More on the evolution of the word curator from a recent article on Visual Thesaurus: "...curators of the ironic might want to make an addition to their lists: the fact that a word which once defined those who looked out for others, now also refers to those who look after themselves."

- I noticed a great initiative on Gabrielle Moser's blog: She's compiling lists of influential "Canadian curated moments". In her words: "...ground rules for the lists are flexible, but I’m looking for exhibitions that were mounted between 1980 and 2010. These could be group or solo shows, and you don’t need to necessarily have seen them "in the flesh", but they need to be curated by a Canadian and include Canadian artists. [...] Though I have started by asking a group of curators I know personally and invited them to submit their lists, the "archive" is open to everyone." You can send your lists to Gabby by contacting her via her website.

- The Are Curators Unprofessional? summit held recently at the Banff International Curatorial Institute has generated quite a bit of online discussion. I found these posts about it particularly illuminating (and have grabbed a few teaser quotes to encourage you to click through!):
Amy Fung at Akimbo: "The almost unanimous rejection of moving information such as catalogues online then is the total fear of losing what little power curators and artists have in the tangible world."
Nancy Tousley at Canadian Art: "This idea of subversion is an exciting notion. It suggests that contemporary artists and curators are closer in their aims than might initially be thought, and that there is potential for curators to participate in substantive change by adopting a strategic "unprofessionalism." "
Ginger Scott at Art in Practice: "The overarching cry from the symposium was to please keep curating unprofessional! It can operate with the freedom it does precisely because it is indefinable."

Welcome to the last Pick 'N Mix of 2009!

- Here is yet another art world power list, listing several curators, many of whom are "household names" of a sort (Birnbaum, Bonami, Obrist, etc). We're a society obsessed with lists and awards it seems!

- Andy Warhol was all over the news this past month, and one of the major news items referred back to a situation in 1990 involving well-known and respected curator Pontus Hulten. According to reports, some of Warhol's famous Brillo boxes were replicated after the artist's death and passed off as originals, which has resulted in a sticky situation for everyone involved. The details, including some information on Hulten's role in the story, is available at Artnews.com. More potential Warhol fakes were discovered, in London-based art dealer Anthony d'Offay's collection, prompting Tate Modern Director Sir Nicholas Serota to hold off on buying the self-portrait on the taxpayer's dime. Full coverage at the Guardian. Of course, it is not hard to imagine that our late Uncle Andy would have had a huge laugh about the complications surrounding a desire for verified authenticity.

- While we're thinking about money, value, and authenticity, here's a good read: The British Council has been holding lectures by leading thinkers such as Dambisa Moyo, Amartya Sen, Muhammad Yunus, and others. In early November Benjamin Barber gave a lecture on art, money and democratic change and it's available to watch or read at the British Council website.

- Here's a handy research tip: If you use Twitter, send a tweet with your research interests to Mute Magazine, and they'll dig up something relevant for you from their archives! I asked them for articles on curating and public art, and was promptly sent links to two great articles: Curating Self-Consciously, and Airing Dirty Laundry in Public Art. Give it a try!

- Independent Curators International (iCI) has a series of lectures planned that looks terrific. Sunday, December 13th Ana Paula Cohen is speaking at the New Museum in New York, USA. Further details here. If you are in the New York area, sign up to their email list to get information on future talks.

- Last but not least, please consider helping a researcher out and filling in this questionnaire for curators developed by Lisa Ladner. I'm sure the results will make for fascinating reading.

Happy holidays!

Welcome to the July edition of Pick 'N Mix, my monthly annotated list of things that caught my eye over the course of the previous month. Check it out:

- A new Curating.info Conversations e-book has been released! Download it now.

This edition of Curating.info Conversations is with Karen Gaskill, the Director and Curator of Interval, and a Researcher at the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT) in Liverpool. She is also currently completing her practice-based PhD in Digital Media and Social Practice at the Digital Research Unit, The University of Huddersfield. The interview with Karen covered topics ranging from getting outside of the white cube to the expanding role of the audience.

- I recently discovered a blog called "Sideshows", written by Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy. Recently Ms Chong Cuy has been publishing some really interesting interviews with young curators in China and Hong Kong. Recent examples include an interview with Kate Fowle, International Curator at the Ullens Centre in Beijing, wherein the notion of what "international" practice is today is discussed, and the second interview in the series is with Zoe Butt, Director of International Programs at Long March Project in Beijing, China. Well worth a read!

- Ms Chong Cuy, author of Sideshows, asked Kate Fowle to elaborate a bit more on the meaning of her title of "International Curator". Similarly, in this article we find founding film curator of University of California San Diego's ArtPower!, Rebecca Webb, discussing the difficulty of a title like "Film Curator". "A lot of people – when I'm here, anyway – say, 'Oh, do you work in a library or something?'" Ms Webb says. As curators, we all know titles have power and meaning, and this is usually why it is important professionally to seek appropriate credit for the work you have done. These specialist titles that were created for Ms Fowle and Ms Webb are meant to indicate an area of expertise, however, it is clear that it remains confusing for some people (sometimes because they don't understand what curators do in the first place, other times because the notion behind the specialism is so new?). Nomenclature is no small thing. I'll simply wonder aloud here: what can be done to indicate specialisation without inducing confusion?

- CultureGrrl (among other outlets) reported on the "leave" taken by Curator and Deputy Director David Franklin of the National Galleries of Canada. For me, this news story raised several ethical questions. Among all of the very obvious questions around the obligations of the gallery to its employees and to its public, the next issue that arose for me was of Mr Franklin's privacy. Curator at the National Galleries of Canada is a prominent position, to be sure, but did Mr Franklin ever imagine that his decision to take extended leave (or to effectively leave his post) would be fodder for the national and international press? I'm not sure that he did. Whatever his reasons, he isn't appealing to the press to make a case against his employer -- yet -- so perhaps he should be left alone, and we should presume his colleagues are capable of continuing his work, until we hear a statement from Mr Franklin himself. Or do any readers here think otherwise?