How to Write a Curatorial Statement

Howtowriteacuratorialstatement The The main main aim aim in writ writin ing g a cura curato tori rial al stat statem emen ent t is to impl imply y a grea great t deal deal with withou out t actuallysayingverymuchat all. The trick is to be wantonly wantonly suggestiveand suggestiveand at the the same same time time to spea speak k as indirectlyaspossible-ifyou foll follow ow thes these e gold golden en rule rules s youwon’tgotoofarwrong. RULE#1Makeyourtitle illusiveanddon’tgive anythingaway

Writingtitlesforshow Writingtitlesforshowscanbetricky scanbetrickybutaslongasyoudon’ butaslongasyoudon’ttryandsaytoomuch ttryandsaytoomuchyoushould youshouldbeon beon safeground.Findingabalancebetweensnappyad-speakorTVshowinformalityandthenameofa doctoralthesisshouldbeyouraim.Itcanbehelpfultohaveasecondtitlethatmakesyousound smarterafteryourcatchyonelinere.g. “ConsumingDesires–betweenecstasyandbreakfast”,The  Alchemistsdilemma–theillusionsofscientismandtheoccult ”.(n.bpairingthingsisalsoagoodidea– also help helpfu ful l to write write in the the “frombackstreet “frombackstreet to boogie boogie” “ between between projectionand projectionand epiphany  epiphany ”) Itis also presentcontinuoussuchas “Makingthemodern…,”Writingthesubject… ” “Thinkingtautologies…”A finaltipcanbeaddingawellknowntheorist’snamebutcunninglylinkingittoanunlikelyobjectasin “Hegel’splaypen”ThecandlestickofPlotinus”or”Kant’spyjamas” RULE#2Avoidanyspeakingsubject

The second second rule isto nevershow nevershow your your hand hand ordeclare ordeclare yourse yourself. lf. The danger danger isobvious isobvious if yousay somethingthen somethingthenyoumightbechalle youmightbechallengedtoback ngedtobackupyouropinion, upyouropinion,soavoidusing soavoidusing “I”or “We”or “The Instea ead d you can can treat treat the the exhi exhibi bitio tion n as agen agency cy. . “The The work works s artists”. Inst “The exhibi exhibiti tion on looks looks at…” The collectivelydiffusethetimebombof…”, “Theshowaddresses…”.Youcanaddtothistheideathatthe exhibit exhibition ion isan argume argumentbutnot ntbutnot inthesense that that ittests ofprovessomet ofprovessomething hing but just just is. Saying Saying somethinglike “Theexhibitionframesanargumentthatisborderedononesidebylackandonthe ives the the impr impres esssion ion that that you you are are more ore like like an othe other r by the the pali palimp mpse sest st of soci social al cohe cohesi sion on” gives archaeologist,andratherthanbeingyourowncreation,theexhibitionwasalwaystherewaitingtobe discovered. RULE#3Allexhibitionsareinvestigations

Anexhibitionshouldneverbeconcrete.Inacuratorialstatementyoushouldalwaystryandavoidany teleology.Woebetidethecuratorwhoactuallydeclaresthatashowmeanssomething.Remember artisaboutaskingquestion artisaboutaskingquestionsnotmakingman snotmakingmanifesto ifestosandcurators sandcuratorsarenotdeclarant arenotdeclarantssothetrickisto ssothetrickisto alwaysretainaconceptofinquiry.“Theexhibitio “Theexhibitionseeksto…,“Theshowatte nseeksto…,“Theshowattemptsareadingof…” mptsareadingof…”or or Youcantakethisonestagefurtherbyimplyingthat “Theworkscompriseanheuristicexplicationof...” theexhibitionis”thefirstfalteringstepsonaninvestigationof…” . RULE#4Alwayscirclearoundthesubject

Thisisausefultipinmanyformsofacademicwriting.Sothatyoudonotexposeyourselftohavingan opinio opinion n always always presen present t the subjec subject t asan amorph amorphous ous and undefi undefined ned field field of possib possible le inquiry inquiry. . One techniqueistouseequallyill-definedandnebuloustermssuchas “Theworkscirclearound…” “The artistsarecaughtbetweentensionsofbeingandnothingness”or “issuesintheworksaregathered aroundadichotomyofselfandother ”.

RULE#5Doasmuchaspossibledistanceyourselffromthespaceoftheinstitution

Perverseasthelogicmayseemitisveryimportanttoimplythattheexhibitionisnotheldwithinthe wallsofthespacehousingit.Theaimistoimplyboththattheexhibitionisthefirstpartona longer  journey and that there isan understanding of the limitation of the institution. It’s hard to invoke institutionalcritiquewhenoneismakingashowinaninstitutionsosomefastfootworkisneeded here.Usefulwaysofdiscussingthismightinclude “Withinthespacetheexhibitionseeksto…butatthe sametimeitinvitesawiderreadingofXinthesocialcontextsof…”, “Theexhibitionrepresentsonly onemanifestationoftheintentionto…atthesametimewefindourselvesoutsideofthespacelooking backin”or “The exhibition isa work inprogress and laterthis year a publicationwill beprepared that…”.Publications are greatsince they implythatyou will atsomeunmentioned time formulate somethingapproachinganopinionwithouttheneedtosuggestwhatthatmightbe. RULE#6Citationiscriticaltodeflectattentionfromyourownthoughts

Allcuratorialstatementsneedtorefertotextsoutsideofthemselvesandselectingtherightpeopleto quoteandquotingthemintherightwayiscritical.Beforetakingonwhotoquote(seeappendix#1) letusbeginbylookingathowtoquotepeople.Againifyouquotedirectlyyouruntheriskofactually sayingsomethingsothebestisalwaystodistanceyourselffromthepersonyouareciting.Writinga line like “Rancières’s reading of capital allows us to…”or “When Deleuze addresses difference he enables…”ismucheasiertohandle.Onegeneralruleofthumbisthatallquotationsarefamous.The point is that you don’t want to sound like you’re trotting out some hackneyed phrase so adding assumednotorietygetsyouoffthehook. “InHannaArendt’sfamousphrase“Nothingweuseorhear ortouchcanbeexpressedinwordsthatequalwhatisgivenbythesenses”wefindacipherforthe...”. Onecangoonestagefurtherbyrewritingaquotesoyoucangetthetheoristofchoicetoexpress whatyouwant. “toparaphraseLyotard‘thesubjectisdeconstructed’…”,orrewritingMarx’sepigram, ”aspecterishauntingEurope-thespecterofconsumersim””. RULE#7Thesafestwaynotsayanythingistoaskquestions

This may be the most useful advice so far. By asking questions you can sound as if you know somethingwithouthavingtohaveanyrealknowledgewhatsoever. “Cananaestheticsofselfstandin opposition to the oxymoron of identity politics? ”. “Will we ever be finished with rewriting Kant? ” Questionsareparticularlyusefulinacademicareaswhereyouhaven’tread.Herethetrickistodress upaquestionasifthesubjectareawassecondnaturetoyou.“Wecanaskthequestionthathas  puzzled cognitive scientists for decades, ‘Why do people have a particular kind of intelligent behaviour’.”(n.b.Hereagainitisnotyouwhoareaskingthequestionratheryouhaveinvokedthe collective ‘we’ a harmony between the viewer of the exhibition and exhibitions itself. You are completelyoffthehook! RULE#8usewordsasshorthandphilosophytoshowthatyouhavereadtherightbooks

Thisisasimpletechnique,youdon’treallyneedtoknowyoursubjectareatoimplyknowledgeandas longasyouitalicisethechosenwordsandimplyarelationthatyoudonotexplore.“Theimpliedlack  intheworkspositionsthe traceofselfasabject ”.Itisquiteeasytooverdothistechniqueandifyou findthatmorethan28%ofyourtextisitalicisedyouhaveprobablygonetoofar. “ Theobjetpetita,as mediatedcommodityfetishinvokesthedaseinofa polysemoussubject ”isdefinitelyoverdoingit. RULE#9Writepoliticallybutwithoutpolitics

Youcansafelyassumethatyouarelinedupbehindtherightpoliticalbanneraslongasyouinvokea senseofrighteousactivism.Therearetwogoldenruleswhenwritingwithpoliticalintent;aimbroad andshootatstrawtargets.Don’tforgetcuratorialpracticeisanarmchairactivityandshouldn’thave you rushingto the barricades with a Molotov ineachhand. You are oncompletelysafeground in almostallartcirclesaslongasyoulambastthegreatwickednessesofcapitalismorsocialpolicy.One helpfultacticistoavoidthespecificsofpoliticaldebate.Ifyouwriteaboutneo-liberalismforexample

you shouldn’t discuss it in terms of it as a particular form of economic policy or as a distinct movement of capital. Neo-liberalism should betreated as an indistinct ideology synonymous with everything that is evil, wicked and wrong. So to write something like “…rejecting the parochial neoliberalagendaofno-logocentrism… ”,or “thisisreflectedinfictionalarchitectureandneo-liberal urbanplanning”veryneatlysaysverylittlebutstillimpliesapoliticalengagement.Therealtrickisto affecttherighttoneofvoice,andyoushouldsoundindignantandjustifiablyincensedbythegeneral andnevertobedefinedinjusticesdealtouttohumankindandtoartinparticular. RULE#10Whotoattackandwhattoattack

Basicallytheruleswithpeoplearequitestraightforwardaimatthebiggestandleastlikelytoreply. Writing about “the hapless aftermath of Reaganomics” or “the redundant policies of Blairite escapism” is much better than pinpointing something. One should absolutely avoid any active politician. Writing something like “the wanton disregard paid by the current culture minister Lena  AdelsohnLiljeroth”isjustaskingfortrouble.Realpoliticscangetverymessy.Butaslongasyouare goingaftersomeonelikeObamaandyoutreathimassomesortofbehemothyouwilllooklikeDavid against a philistine Goliath. The list of things to attackshould be chosen with care but issues like ‘globalization’ or ‘commodification’ are guaranteed winners. Adding a little rhetorical flair is importanthereso you don’tsound like some old journalisthack, You should sprinkleyourpolitics withlineslike“asthegraffitiinbanlieuesthatreadsLacroissanceestunefolie… ”or ““Politicsisthe art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies”,asMarxputit,GrouchoMarxthatis’. Appendix#1Whotoquote?

The basic rule here is gowith the flow. Pick the same people that others are quoting this makes others feel comfortable and reinforces a sense that there is a theoretical zeitgeist. Antiquity is relatively safe and beyond the obvious Plato,SocratesandAristotle, Epicurusis a good recent bet speciallyifyou’relookingforsomethingabouttaste.Youcansafelyhopoverthenext900yearswith thepossibleexceptionoftheArabandPersianthinkersofthefirstandsecondcenturieslikeal-Kindi, alFarabiandIbnDaud.Arecenttrendinmagicalandalchemicaltextsmighthaveyoudippinginto Paracelsus but this isveryeasilyoverdone. There’slittleto get worried aboutin the sixteenth and seventeenthcenturybuta mentionofSpinozanpanthesismorCartesiandoubtcanlookgood.Kant, Bentham,FichteandHegelshouldtakecareofthenext100years.TreatMarxasanhistorian,Pierce asa structuralist, Luckacs asa modernist and Nietzsche asa poet. The twentiethcentury ismuch hardersoyouneedtobecarefultochooseprolificwriterssoyouminimizeanyriskofmisquoting.If you want keep a political agenda in your work your choices need to be made with even greater attentiveness.Rememberifyougowadinginwithanactivistagendabuthaveatextripewiththe axioms ofanoldbookburnerlike Heidegger orbitsofGadamerorPauldeManyouwilldefinitely openyourselfupforattack.Onesurprisingtechniqueistoselectyourauthorsbyletter.Ratherthan takingonthewholepanoplyofcontemporarytheorywithmonthsofreadingconfineyourselftoa limited alphabetical range, the letter‘B’ for example! Bataille, Badiou, Butler, Baudrillard, Barthes, Blanchot,Bourdieu,Bürger,Bhabha,Bourriaud,Benjamin,Bakhtinlookslike aprettygood selection tomeandwouldsaveyoualotoftimeyoumightotherwisehavegiventotheother25letters. Posted:Friday,12March,2010 http://www.tenstakonsthall.se/blog/how-write-curatorial-statement