Enwezor's article, "The Postcolonial Constellation: Contemporary Art in a State of Permanent Transition" presents the idea that globalization has rid cultures of their "temporal and spatial distance" and has standardized cultures for the sake of capitalism. Since globalization has blurred the lines between cultures has it done the same for art? He introduces the idea of postcolonial constellation as being a "set of arrangements of deeply entangled relations and forces that are founded by discourses of power. The idea of the globalization of art fundamentaly refutes the traditionalist approach to art history. One thing is not directly leading to another, but instead it is a convergence of ideas and cultures and images that lead to progession of art.
Enwezor discusses the type of commentary that surrounds an exhibition. There are two different types. The first regards the exhibition as a novelty. The critique is sensationalist and treats the exhbition as a type of fashion show in which one is more concerned with whats "new" than with the art itself. The second type of critique is institutional. It revolves around the principle that "art has meaning and cultural value only when it is seen wholly as art and autonomous. That is any encounter with art must relate to that art scientifically, not culturally, in order to understand the objective conditions of the work in question".
Enwezor then goes on to discuss the way in which art is presented to the viewer in museum setting. I don't know that a visitor at a museum would ever stop to think about the way in which the art is presented to him by the curator. The typical viewer would most likely consider the work in and of itself and consider the artist, and although his experience and understanding would certainly be affected by the way the art is presented to him by the curator, he probably wouldnt realize it. In a way Enwezor is examing the extent of the curator's power and the ramifications of it. He says, "...it is of significant interest to see in the curator a figure who has assumed a position as a producer of certain kinds of thought about art, artists, exhibitions, and ideas and their place among a field of other possible forms of thought that govern the transmission and reception of artistic production; to think reflexively also about museums".
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment