Migration
Research Through Practice Final Projectcuratorial statement
this is really difficult.
The essential dilemma is this: the practical skills, research process, and relationship to artistic production is fundamentally different for curators and artists. There are many parallels and certainly overlapping areas, but to CURATE work that one has participated in MAKING is fundamentally unethical in an art world context.
Therefore, in the many contemporary cases of professional overlap, it is necessarily to act primarily as an ARTIST when engaged in work that would otherwise be considered curatorial <Fred Wilson comes to mind>, or to act primarily as a CURATOR when otherwise engaged in work that would otherwise be considered artistic <relational aesthetics, workshop style exhibitions, collaborating with an artist on commissioned work>.
This is not a semantic argument. The difference between artist and curator is one of authorship, who can sell and exhibit work under their own name and continue to be credited throughout subsequent art history. It is in neither the artist nor the curator’s interest to conflate these terms, as it threatens autonomy of practice for both.
Why then are curators being asked to MAKE WORK in collaboration with artists for this course? I believe it is out of a desire to explore the overlapping skill sets mentioned above. Without explicitly stating the distinction between these two professional disciplines, however, the course simply obliterates the importance of curatorial practice in artistic production. There is no way to curate the work of a group one belongs to, and so the curator is relegated to researcher, web designer, note taker. While these are component parts of the curatorial practice, they are far from being dynamic or reflective aspects, as it is impossible to reflect on a practice one is unable to perform.
It is my personal opinion that the inclusion of curators in this assignment shows a profound misunderstanding of the professional identity and importance of the curator, or an unwarranted dismissal of serious questions about artistic and curatorial autonomy and authorship. That is the statement of the curator, hands bound and very seriously frustrated.
