Who Curates A Theme-Based Interview - Assignment Example

Who Curates? A Theme-based Interview of Who Curates? A Theme-based Interview Art is simultaneously involved with philosophy for arranging lifelong practices within the political and social context into a futuristic shape. The need of displaying art forms in front of the audience or curator task is somewhat debated for group exhibitions. There comes increased number of accounts regarding the ways in which curator can bring art in a more simplified form which will never lead viewers towards ambiguity. It is rather expected that curators would come up with arrangement patterns following theory and illusionist of art works. This paper aims to present an interview session conducted between Ralph Rugoff (interviewer) and Andrew Hunt (curator). In collaboration with the respective works by each of the bodies involved in interview You Talking to Me and Minor Curating, this paper takes a grasp of the theme, ‘Who Curates?”. It should be noted that the presentation of this interview is able to take a concrete discussion base about curator, visitor expectations, the themes that are selected for group exhibition and artist’s work allowing communication patterns. All this has been interwoven in the paper through the discussion between the two viewpoints regarding the theme selected for this paper. Rugoff: There are always two ways in which curator’s job can either be made easy to understand or difficult to the level where art can become diminished instead of reaching its goal of showing a way for viewers to relate to it. I believe that curator spending time to find out the best arts works and putting all of them together under one roof will rather make the message of art as clattery. Instead, it is suggested that little but great work will allow exhibition to leave out a sensational memory. May be, it will be effective for curator to not just focus on selection of some finest work but rather works that will mesmerize the senses. This is the way in which one can dictate the role of curator in a very critical manner (Rugoff, 2006). This is surely a way of thinking over the theme of Who Curates. What about you? Hunt: As I started my own work entitled Minor Curating, I would reply to this question of yours by saying I argue. I would rather imply that curator’s work is no less than a historical preacher. Curators are to play the role to follow periphery. The concept of Prism is surely reflective of curator’s task. The real-life examples of group exhibition can be drawn from United Kingdom where I have experienced some finer manner of art work presented in such a way that I experienced story-telling within the work. This is the reason behind the complexity of a curator. If a curator is not able to settle a framework of analogy for the art work, it is expected that curator would be defined in thousand other ways. Curator should be implying the understanding regarding value of periphery and parochial rather than just displaying the work together for group exhibition purpose. In case a curator is dismaying different thoughts together to bring a definition to his locus of interest then it is much important that inclination is provided to sense of humor. In other words, it can be said that if there are a number of concepts being talked about then it surely needs a coordination definition, a working principle and a rightful pattern, which is the only thing that is agreeable with you (Hunt, 2002). Rugoff: I appreciate your argument for the statement. I would rather agree with your insight as I rightfully mentioned that curator’s work can either be defined as simplistic as well as difficult. The aura about which you discuss at the end of your reply is about coordination. In this note, I agree with you as well. I am very much delighted to note here that every group exhibition needs to undertake a responsibility i.e. to compare the audience insight and so the artist’s. I think you are missing the point of fabrication that is much needed to be done by a curator. Group exhibitions require a packaging. As I mentioned in my literary work, packaging is very much alike the job of a curator. There needs to be role-play session by the visitors joining in for group exhibitions. In modern times, the right word that explains my viewpoint about curator is to undertake synchronization for every art work that is present in the group exhibition. It is much needed because there is a need of dialogue that visitors must undertake when joining in for the group exhibition encompasses by variable artists and storytellers (Rugoff, 2006). This is indicating towards a very effective process of social interactions i.e. communication. You might not agree with it but I believe that curators have to carefully engage visitors at the group exhibition in communication which is perceived and developed by artworks. Hunt: Much rightly said, there is a need of communication needed between the visitors and the artists of the group exhibition. Unfortunately, there are some of the barriers which I have noted in the process of communication between the audiences and visitors. What is of my concern here is that most of the concepts or subjects of art work such as humor is not conveyed properly. There is always a misleading stance in the projection of art work in the group exhibition. There are couple experiences of mine that have been terrible because it was not easy to understand the reason behind the implied message of the art work. This is in congruence to the main task and expectation of audiences with a curator. The question about who curates cannot be simplified until or unless there are examples of expectations of audiences themselves. For instance, I mentioned just now that there are some of the group exhibitions being held in London that are questioning about irony. The point is that the context of such a question is not noticeable in the group exhibition. Either there is something left which was much needed in the overall group setting or art work does not comply with the message that is being projected through the aid of art exhibition in a group level (Hunt, 2002). Sometimes, the genres are selected wrongly by the curator. So it is the first and much needed expectation of a group exhibition itself that curator is able to skim work which is in direct coordination of subject. I can also narrate few lines from my written work which can surely make your question become well-answered. And it goes, “One might argue that the answer to this question is that, partly through its long and worn history, irony is now more likely to be used to construct prescribed meaning rather than to undermine set truths, and frustratingly it is also quite obvious that this particular exhibition conflated the two subjects. The project represented an example of a wider problem of confusion in contemporary criticism; humor is a category that is at odds with current ideas about irony. In fact, one answer to Seyfarth’s question, ‘is there an alterna- tive to Postmodern irony?’, is ‘humor’ because it provides an effective choice through its more open form of critical and aesthetic intelligence” (Hunt, 2002). With such a statement, it will become easier for the audiences, readers and curators to understand that what is needed from them and where they can make use of their creative minds to build a communication channels between the artists and audiences. I am happy to see when I compare curator of imperial time with those of today because they have gone awry. Today, the modern day curators do not limit themselves at all. It is because they have undermined a very clear picture of expectations of the audiences (Hunt, 2002). Rugoff: Well said, I must agree with you on all your notes. But here, may be you have deflected with the point of question. The fact is that most of the lines between the humor, communication, expectations, array and framework are the total cost of analogy. My insight to this subject is that curators have been marked as individuals who are able to practice consciousness from the minds of artists. Let them be the artists. Would that make it a critical yet easy task to undertake? I would reply to this “NO”. I would rightly mention here that group exhibitions have gone off from their working definitions. It is mainly because the curators have been able to justify their selection based upon the theme selection. However, the fact remains that in a group exhibition, artists are presented as working elements showing or displaying a similar theme. This raises the question of individuality of the work organized to cater the expectations of visitors. I would say that curator has a job to surprise the audiences with what has never been witnessed before. This is the way commercial art has become developed (Rugoff, 2006). The group exhibition have actually aided and provided a lot to the mainstream commercial work with creative influence. Would you not agree with this in context of the theme? Hunt: Yes, why not. If I answer you by saying that caretaker is a synonym of curator then would you mind? I am sure you will not because this is what everybody has been talking about the way curator is expected to be. But the fact remains that curator is taking care of mass culture which is to be conveyed till next centuries. This is a very important task that has to be undertaken till eternity because it expresses futuristic world. My recommendations are sure to be helpful for curators all around the world if they understand that the need of their job is utmost important in society and for artists in particular. I would suggest that the pattern experimentation should always be done by curators. This way, people can actually understand Who Curates (Hunt, 2002). Rugoff: All in all, there were a number of statements that you have passed on the questions that I asked you. They were all insightful. I would also mention that this way of inquiring about the theme is merely the role play session to be played by curator themselves. Today, the expectations that have been noted from the curator are so critical that it might change the way exhibitions are carried out. I would appreciate you for all the insights that you have shared today. I would welcome you to generalize more. And finally, I have learnt a great deal of lesson about curator and their working definition. Through the above discussion that was conducted between the both parties, it has come to our understanding that the theme “Who Curates?’ allows us to find answers of many questions that are asked when it comes to group exhibition. It may be astonishing for people when two modernists discuss the workability of curator in a very different array. It is to provide a clear indication of the fact that curator are defined completely differently according to their focus or locus of interest. The two individuals who have been presented in this essay have come up with replies about inquires regarding the theme that entail the question of curator working with different segments of artwork. It should also be noted that with the help of this interview, this has become easy to understand that in the mainstream industry of art and focus, the need of clarity for curator expectations with the feedback of group exhibitions and in return, the expectations of the audiences with curator to form art work pattern that will help them communicate with artists. The fact remains that the main concern of audiences with art work is to give them a way to relate themselves with what the artists may do. A curator can make sure that this need is fulfilled without being going away the traditional ways of patterning the art work. In a nut shell, it can be well stated that the theme “Who Curates?’ makes us understand the likewise minds of practical curator examples, mainly the two individuals conducting the dialogue. List of References Hunt, A., 2002. Minor Curating. Journal of Visual Art Practice, 9(2), p.153–161. Rugoff, R., 2006. You Talking to Me?: On Curating Group Shows that Give You a Chance to Join the Group. New York: Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative. Read More