The New Situationist

Contemporary Art: From Studio to Situation
The New Situationist

Claire Doherty

Doherty, Claire. "The New Situationist." Contemporary Art: From Studio to Situation. London: Black Dog Pub., 2004. 8-13. Print.

Date: 11/09/2012

List of primary claims made in this reading:

As “site-specific” work become more of a demand in the art world circuit, those involved (artist, commissioners, curators, etc.) must have realistic expectations for the project outcome and be cognizant of the demands they are placing on the artist-as-organizer and the community with whom they are working.

Key Quotes:

The increasing institutional interest in current site-oriented practices that mobilise the site as a discursive narrative is demanding an intensive physical mobilization of the artist to create works in various cities throughout the cosmopolitan art world.” (Pg. 9, Miwon Kwon)

“And finally, as cultural experience has become recognised as a primary component of urban regeneration, so the roles of artist have become redefined as mediators, creative thinkers and agitators, leading to increased opportunities for longer-term engagement between an artist and a given group of people, design process or situation.” (Pg. 10)

“As an artist you’re non-threatening, because no one expects you to have power.” (Pg. 11, Kathrin Bohm)

“It is important to attempt to find a language for engagement, because the gaps between the current rhetoric of engagement and actual experience may lead to confusion about the aims and potential outcomes of a project.” (Pg. 12)

“Given that these processes of engagement and intervention need interlocutors, as Bourriard notes, the role of the curator or commissioner as mediator becomes vital.” (Pg. 12)

“As practitioners, commissioners, participants and viewers, we need to understand the complex processes of initiation, development and mediation of this work. We need to make the distinctions between the types of engagement that are occurring and the promises that are being made. We need to question what levels of support this work needs (information, time, technical resources, distribution mechanisms and personnel).” (Pg. 12)

Key Figures/Works:

Neville Gabie and Leo Fitzmaurice - FURTHER UP in the Air
 
Francis Alys - When Faith Moves Mountains, 2002.
"his practice as a whole is 'complicit' rather than 'investigative'" (Pg. 9)

Questions of the reading?