What is curatorial statement?

Curatorial StatementGroup 5

Guo Zi LuHo Ngai YingLaw Kam Ho Richard CharlesLee Pak KaLi QiaoNg Yuen Yan

526199065302042453030964530419175263954853025917

Monday, 18 November, 13

Goal of the presentationTo analyse the characteristics and structure of curatorial statement through case studies

To explore how to write a good curatorial statement

Outline of the presentation1. Introduction2. Case studies:・Guggenheim (Gloria Gao)

・Dwelling: Beauty of dwelling in Hong Kong (Jessica Li)・Art container (Christine Ho)

・St. John University (Richard C. Law)

・Sharjah Biennial (Sophia Lee)

What is a curatorial statement?•statement written by curator or organization about the exhibition or project

• functions as an introduction to the exhibition•states the exhibition's organizing theme or topic•provides a brief critical analysis and discussion of the works included in the exhibition

Purpose of curatorial statement

Guide the public to understand your exhibitionSet up a dialogue with the visitors (help them to see from the curatorial point of view)Arouse viewers’ interest in the exhibitionImply a great deal about the exhibition without exposing any details

Content

You may write about…*Your intention in creating the exhibition

*Theme or idea to explore

*How the selected artists handle and comprehend the theme

Writing a curatorial statementUsually for a medium length one, around 500 words, 3-4 paragraphs

Structure: ❶ an overall impression of the exhibition ❷ explanation on the artists’ concepts and their works ❸ suggest alternate interpretations on the theme** some curator also write a supplementary handout

that describes each work in the exhibition in-depth

Pay attention when writing a curatorial statement1. Emphasise the thesis

You might want to elaborate your thesis in details

Try and link your thesis to the main theme and purpose of the exhibition

By doing so will strengthen your curatorial mission

2. Avoid teleology

Remember you are not making a declarationMonday, 18 November, 13

3. Avoid using art-world jargon ∵ alienates general audience# If there are specific terms essential to the theme of the exhibition, make sure to define them in easily understandable language in the curatorial statement4. Tone Formal and informative toneThe use of official languages, e.g.: “the exhibition

is…”→ the exhibition engages with the publicUsually use the third person perspective

Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art InitiativeGloria GAO Zilu 52619906

OutlineIntroduction of Guggenheim and Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative

Analysis of the curatorial statement-writing structure and paragraphs-key words-Q&A method-players and institutions involved

Evaluation and conclusion

Introduction-Guggenheim Foundation

Introduction-Guggenheim FoundationSolomon R. Guggenheim Foundation (1937)

SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUMNew York

GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM BILBAOBilbao

PEGGY GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION Venice

DEUTSCHE GUGGENHEIM Berlin(1997-2013)

GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM SOHONew York(1992-2001)

GUGGENHEIM HEMITAGE MUSEUMLas Vegas(2001-2008)

GUGGENHEIM LAS VEGASLas Vegas(2001-2003)

GUGGENHEIM ABU DHABI United Arab Emirates(in development)

BMW GUGGENHEIM LABNew York BerlinMumbai

GUGGENHEIM USB MAP GLOBAL ART INITIATIVE South and Southeast AsiaLatin AmericaMiddle East and North Africa

Introduction-Guggenheim USB MAP Global Art Initiative (MAP)

http://www.guggenheim.org/guggenheim-foundation/collaborations/map/overview, access on 5 November, 2013.Monday, 18 November, 13

-A multi-year cross-cultural collaboration

-Cross-cultural interaction between artists, curators, and audiences via educational programs, online activities, and collection building

-A multi-year cross-cultural collaboration

-Cross-cultural interaction between artists, curators, and audiences via educational programs, online activities, and collection building

“The initiative’s curatorial statement grew out of an institutional self-analysis, which asked how a museum might most effectively reflect the global multiplicity of cultural practices.”

Curatorial Statement-Writing Structure

The “Guggenheim tradition”BACKGROUND

The reasons of establishment

WHAT & WHY

The reasons of establishment

WHAT & WHY

The plans and goalsHOW

Curatorial Statement-1st paragraphBeginning in the 1970s, when Peggy Guggenheim bequeathed her art collection and Venetian palazzo to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, the Guggenheim has established a global network of museums that today includes the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin, both of which opened in 1997, in addition to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Other recent endeavors, including our Asian Art Program and the BMW Guggenheim Lab, as well as the ongoing planning and development of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the recent feasibility study for a museum in Helsinki, continue to build on the Guggenheim's distinguished history of internationalism.

Success of the past

Success of the past Recent projects

Success of the past The legacy (glory) of the Guggenheim

Recent projects

Success of the past The legacy (glory) of the Guggenheim

Recent projects

Proudly introduced the process of its development and its distinguished aspect.

The Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative evolved out of an intense institutional self-analysis in which we asked ourselves what it meant to be a global museum today. The museum recognized that…a new understanding of world culture has emerged that is transnational and simultaneous—sometimes even instantaneous…Ours is a networked society in which separate cultures overlap and commingle in provocative and meaningful ways, and the impulse toward homogenization has been eclipsed by connected and conjoined localities. We asked ourselves, "How can the Guggenheim, with its own early history steeped in European Modernism, become meaningfully transnational? How can we recalibrate what we do—from collecting to exhibition making to educational programming—so that it reflects the multiplicity of cultural practices and their histories around the globe?"

Curatorial Statement-2nd paragraph

The origin of the idea

The origin of the ideaAnalysis of the current

situation

situation Questions to be solved

Engaging and serious-facing the changes and plan for the future

…we are pursuing an active engagement with artists, curators, and audiences in regions around the world... Our goal is to catalyze an open exchange among different cultures…we will invite three curators… They will share with us their wealth of knowledge…and propose acquisitions …which will form the basis for traveling exhibitions and attendant educational activities. We recognize that each of the designated geographic regions is utterly heterogeneous and thus impossible to represent as a whole in any coherent manner. With that difficulty in mind, our guest curators will make a case for how they envision adding to the Guggenheim's collection in the most meaningful and relevant way possible, as well as how they imagine presenting the same material in an exhibition that will travel to their regions of focus. Through Guggenheim UBS MAP, the museum hopes to participate in rather than merely represent cultures around the world and in so doing map out a new art-historical model that is both integrative and contextual.

Curatorial Statement-3rd paragraph

The “action plan”

The “action plan” The solution for the problems

The vision of MAP

Decisive and ambitious-the use of verbs

Curatorial Statement-Key Words

Curatorial Statement-Key Words“The program builds on and reflects the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation’s distinguished history of internationalism, as manifest today in its global network of museums and wide-ranging art and education programs.” ---the introduction from Guggenheim’s website

-a global network of museums-Guggenheim's distinguished history of internationalism

-to be a global museum today-Ours is a networked society -become meaningfully transnational-the multiplicity of cultural practices

-an open exchange among different cultures-cultures around the world

Key words:

-Internationalism-Global network

-a global network of museums-Guggenheim's distinguished history of internationalism

-to be a global museum today-Ours is a networked society -become meaningfully transnational-the multiplicity of cultural practices

-an open exchange among different cultures-cultures around the world

Key words:

-Internationalism-Global network

The stress on the two key words makes people get the gist of this program immediately

-prominence of the theme

Curatorial Statement-Q&A method

Curatorial Statement-Q&A methodWe asked ourselves…(QUESTIONS)“…What it meant to be a global museum today…”

“…How can the Guggenheim, with its own early history steeped in European Modernism, become meaningfully transnational?...”

“… How can we recalibrate what we do—from collecting to exhibition making to educational programming—so that it reflects the multiplicity of cultural practices and their histories around the globe?..."

ANSWERS-curatorial residencies-international touring exhibitions-educational programming for adults, youth, families, and educators-acquisitions for the Guggenheim’s permanent collection

Think as a “smart” organization:

-concerns at the time-challenges and opportunities-adjustments are necessary-positive attitudes towards the project

ANSWERS-curatorial residencies-international touring exhibitions-educational programming for adults, youth, families, and educators-acquisitions for the Guggenheim’s permanent collection

Curatorial Statement-Players and Verbs

Curatorial Statement-Players and VerbsMAP:• we ask…• we are pursuing…• we will invite…• we recognize…

Guggenheim museum:• the Guggenheim has established a

global network of museums…• continue to build on…• the museum recognized that…• the museum hopes to…• map out a new art-historical model…

Curators and artists:• share with us their wealth of

knowledge…• propose acquisitions …• form the basis for traveling

exhibitions…• make a case for …• imagine presenting the same

material…

Curators and artists:• share with us their wealth of

knowledge…• propose acquisitions …• form the basis for traveling

exhibitions…• make a case for …• imagine presenting the same

material…

Social background:• separate cultures overlap…• commingle in provocative and

meaningful ways…• eclipsed by connected and conjoined

localities…

ConclusionWhat can we learn from this…

-Attach importance to the project from different perspectives

-Emphasize on the key words of the project(different expressions of the same idea)

-Set concrete goals, rather than focusing on fancy and unrealistic goals.

-Be professional(based on research, personal experiences, etc.)

-Be serious about the topic and the projectMonday, 18 November, 13

Local Case Study Dwelling: Beauty of Dwelling in Hong Kong (2009)

LI Qiao (52639548)

About the Exhibition

Structure

Analyze from different aspects

Point of view —— How

Content

About the ExhibitionCurator：Jeff Leung(梁展峰)Avenue：Osage Gallery in Kwun Tong, Hong KongTarget audience：wide public in HK

structure

Background/ntroduction

Purpose

Categories of the artwork

Examples of each category (to show what will be displayed)

Local Case Study Tone：Informative and persuasive

Style:Using 3rd person point of view.

Hong Kong is a renowned metropolitan with very high property rates of real estates. Every hongkonger strives his life and fortune to possess a tiny space as his own estate, …… and its interior imply a taste of a social class. Therefore the taste and the change of housing quality promise and imply the shift of one's social status. On the other hand, the tiny space provide one his own “wonderland”.

Local Case Study

Curator’s point of view

Main objects —— Space（most mentioned Word）

“Tiny space” & “wonderland” both in three times

Title of the curatorial statement

“the beauty of dwelling in Hong Kong”

Local Case Study Words:No art-world jargon Clear, simple, regular

words (audience ：HK local people)

No use of the word “I” or first-person observations to avoid the informal structure

Sentences:Short, regular sentences easier to read.

Local Case Study Explanation of the specific terms

Space for Practice – Focuses on the physical space that is in actual use. It could be related to limits and control implied or directly shown through its manipulation/operation.

Space out of Space – Creating individual space beyond the constraints of physical space.

Space as a Metaphor – Extending the experiences in physical space to the dimension of symbols in space, using them as “signifiers” in art.

Specific terms Explanation

Local Case Study Using artists’ work as exampleDescribe particular works in depth to draw the

viewer into his thought process.

List several artists’ works as examples.

Space as a Metaphor：

In TSANG Chu Mei’s painting, the juxtapose of private interior and natural exterior is the result of the furniture and trees co-exiting in a no man land. Every space should had its story when time was involved.

Local Case Study Using picturesTexts —— Pictures (combination)Not so abstract —— better understandMore attractive

Case Study : Art ContainerHo Ngai Ying (53020424)

About Art Container project…Curator: Stella Fong (⽅方詠甄)A local project started in 2008 and made of 3 parts, last for 3 years

Painting on containersConcept: containers will be taken to different cities around the world by joining the flow of logistics industry

Target audience: the public in Hong KongVenue: West Kowloon Cultural DistrictContent of creation: social issue

Participant artists

36 artists participated in this project

Curatorial statement Structure

Introduction of the them of the project: “Beautiful Journey · Beautiful World”

The purpose of the exhibition

The themes that adopt in the creation

Curatorial statement

Meanings of the works that the curator hopes to give

The expectations of the curator

WordsParagraph 1:Unlike other exhibi4ons, the 4tle of “Beau4ful Journey．Beau4ful World” was picked by the working team as early as when the exhibi4on was just an idea. We had no preconcep4on of what a “beau4ful world” or a “beau4ful journey” was. At that 4me, the 4tle did not mean anything to us, but an opera4onal and working tool.

• Let the audience to understand how the exhibition runs in a easier way: the origin of idea picked

• Use the first-person observations• Informal words

Tone & Style Paragraph 2:

Soon, I found myself asking, what makes a journey beautiful? Where is the “beautiful world”? How far are we from a beautiful world today? More specifically, I also asked myself, how is this unprecedented project in Hong Kong different from other international art container exhibitions? How would this exhibition relate to and distinguish itself from its site in West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD)?

Tone-‐ Asking ques4onsWhat, How ?

Style: -‐ Using I, myself

Tone & Style Paragraph 2:

Soon, I found myself asking, what makes a journey beautiful? Where is the “beautiful world”? How far are we from a beautiful world today? More specifically, I also asked myself, how is this unprecedented project in Hong Kong different from other international art container exhibitions? How would this exhibition relate to and distinguish itself from its site in West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD)?

Tone-‐ Asking ques4onsWhat, How ?

Style: -‐ Using I, myself

Informal structure- Express the curator’s feeling directly

Sentences Among the works, I see common themes emerge, although I

am often skeptical of the idea of theme in general. To quote from the art critic Dave Hickey, “As soon as you have identified the three things a group of works have in common, you have just identified the three least interesting things about those works.” I propose to myself that this time, in addition to and against the themes are individual artworks imbued with elaborate messages that address a variety of personal and social concerns. Together they form the basis of this exhibition. They strengthen my belief that artworks are not static things but are always changing, evolving and growing. The groupings are meant to offer an entrée to the ideas behind the works, and are not intended as discrete and separate territories.

- Some artistic quotations

Examples of artists’ work 4. Sky is not the limit

Artists adopt images of the sky and examine the uncertain future of their works. Leung Mee-ping reveals the fate of the container that is similar to the nature of the cloud: the goods inside the container will be vaporised like the cloud at the end. For the artist, everything is uncertain except the certainty of an unknown future. Wan Lai-kuen paints the container with the colors of the day and night sky of Hong Kong, in the hope that it will eventually merge with and disappear into the different skies under which it sails and flies. Carl Cheng depicts the skyline of Hong Kong and provocatively asks whether it is the people rather than the ocean, the land, or the sky that keeps the cities apart. Lukas Tam believes that we live in a self-constructed system where unknown forces or collective lives bring us into an obscure and unperceivable future beyond our control.

- List out all displayed themes and the ideas of creation

- Describe the linkage between the view of artists towards containers and their creation

To project the “beautiful world, beautiful journey” through containers

Curatorial StatementUsing first-person observation: Demonstrate feelings

and expectations Molding the image of “beauty” to the audience Sentences, tone and style: emotional

Several pictures attached in another webpage

“These are 7,000,000 bodies”St John’s University

By Richard Charles Law

Introduction

Introduction“These are 7,000,000 Bodies” is an exhibition on genocides and mass murder.

The exhibition featured photographs of war violence taken by famous documentary photographers:Ron Haviv, Marcus Bleasdale & Jonathan Torgovnik

Curated by a university professor from the Department of Fine Arts in the St John’s University, Prof. Alex Morel.

Ron HavivAn American photojournalist, produces work covering a wide range of international conflict.

Author of several photographic collections

Received several awards

Marcus BleasdaleA British photojournalistSpent 12 years covering the conflict in the DRC, Democratic Republic of Congo

His work on human rights and conflict has been shown at the US Senate, the UN and the UK Parliament

Jonathan TorgovnikAn award-winning photographer now based in South Africa

His work has been published in different international magazinese.g. Time, The New Yorker, etc.

Co-founder of Foundation Rwanda, an NGO that supports education for children born of rape during the Rwandan genocide

Intended purpose

Intended purposeTo raise public awareness and educate visitors of the cruelty and monstrosity of war crimes.

A reminder to the audience that senseless slaughters and atrocities are happening in other parts of the world – part of our reality.

The figure 7 million is the sum of death counts from Rwanda, Congo, Darfur, Bosnia and Sri Lanka, as seen on the poster.

Target audienceAnyone who wishes to know more of the horrifying war crimes and mass murders committed in other parts of the world.

Structure

The statement can be roughly divided into two halves:→First half: First 4 paragraphs

Author’s experiences with war violence→Second half: Last 4 paragraphsIntroduction of the exhibition: intended purpose, featured artist…

Use of uncomplicated sentence structure and emotional words: concise yet expressive

Structure

Author’s sharing

About the exhibition

Featured artists

General concluding statement

StyleUse of 1st person point of view:

Using the 1st person p.o.v.

Using the 1st person p.o.v.The use of 1st person pronouns, in particular IThe Prof. shares with the audience his personal experience of the War Crimes

His experience is meant to echo with the audiences’ – the feeling that Holocaust and genocide are from the long gone past and very distant from us in today’s society.

Advantages of using the 1st person p.o.v. instead of the usual 3rd person p.o.v.

Advantages of using the 1st person p.o.v. instead of the usual 3rd person p.o.v.The 3rd person p.o.v. might sound too straight-forward and businesslike.→Might undermine the seriousness of the exhibition as yet another exhibition of aesthetically pleasing photographs.

The photographs are meant to evoke emotional responses.

Advantages of using the 1st person p.o.v. instead of the usual 3rd person p.o.v.The 3rd person p.o.v. might sound too straight-forward and businesslike.→Might undermine the seriousness of the exhibition as yet another exhibition of aesthetically pleasing photographs.

The photographs are meant to evoke emotional responses.→The 1st person p.o.v. is often used in storytelling and is thus associated with expression of feelings and emotions, more suitable for this subject.

Throughout the statement we can sense the author’s upset, disappointment and perhaps anger from his words.

Most highlighted texts are author’s criticisms of war crimes, as well as his expression regarding the intended outcome of this exhibition.

Sharjah Biennial 11

Curatorial statement by Yuko Hasegawa

Lee Pak Ka, Sophia (53041917)

Introduc+on:Sharjah Biennial 11

a celebrated cultural event in the Arab world

first launch in 1993 in the Emirate of Sharjah

provides a crucial plaRorm for contemporary ar4sts in the conserva4ve enclaves of the Middle East

Yuko Hasegawa as the

The Statement

Target audience Art field talents who participate in the

biennial Media and wider public

Structure

Background

Central concept of the biennial

Goals/expected outcomes

Concludingremarks

Content Starts with a book called ReOrient (points out the transna4onal rela4ons between the Arab world and Asia)

• Development of the Silk Road (addresss the historically significant geopoli4cal and cultural role of the Arabian Peninsula)

• 13th century historian Ibn BaZuta and his frequent visit to Islamic courtyard

(uses his experiences to lead-‐in to the thesis)• Courtyard as the central concept – why and how

Content• no men4on of any specific ar4sts or artworks “In selec)ng ar)sts for the Biennial, we sought out individuals who have a deep interest in the culture in which they were raised...”

“The Biennial exhibi)ons will involve prac))oners from a wide variety of genres including, architects, researchers, and performers...”

→ the biennial includes works by more than 100 ar4sts and architects

→ first to establish the thesis for the biennial

Style style influences the reader’s impression of the informa4on

no switch of style → consistency

Style style influences the reader’s impression of the informa4on

no switch of style → consistency

• use of first person point of view

“I was inspired by the courtyard in Islamic architecture...”

“I intend to use the courtyard as...”

“I am invi)ng a selec)on of architects and cultural prac))oners...”

“My concept for the Biennial seeks to....”

“We are all ‘cultural experts’....”

Style: Dic+on• formal, abstract, general (vague),

metaphorical “the courtyard can be transformed from a place into a ‘condition’

or a catalyst…”

“the courtyard is also seen as a ‘plane of experience’ and an ‘experiment…”

Style: Dic+on• formal, abstract, general (vague),

metaphorical “the courtyard can be transformed from a place into a ‘condition’

or a catalyst…”

“the courtyard is also seen as a ‘plane of experience’ and an ‘experiment…”

globalisation

modernity

cultural cartography

cultural genesplacemaking

pre-colonial

-‐> might alienate a general audience

Style: Tone

the overall tone is objec4ve, logical, distant and serious

consists mostly of long, intricate sentences no use of personal digressions or slang words appropriate to the purpose

“In selec)ng ar)sts for the Biennial, we sought out individuals who have a deep interest in the culture in which they were raised, and who are crea)vely engaged in exploring this background. When such ar)sts visit a new loca)on, they perceive and interpret it through the lens of their own unique subjec)vity, formed gradually within their culture(s) of origin out of an amalgam of sedimented habits and sensibili)es. In doing so, they enter into a dialec)cal rela)onship with this new locale, producing, as a result, new knowledge in conversa)on with it. This process produces hybrid knowledge and intercultural products that could poten)ally cons)tute the gene)c material for a novel culture.”

“Being open to the prac)ce of sharing is an essen)al requirement for successful par)cipa)on in the conversa)ons and experiences courtyards can poten)ally play host to. For this reason, the Biennial exhibi)ons will involve prac44oners from a wide variety of genres including, architects, researchers, and performers.”

Keywords high frequency words

Keywords

• to make clear and to emphasize the main ideas

ConclusionBased on our case studies…The general structure of a curatorial statement:

❶Background of the organisation/exhibition

❷Goals/ purpose of the exhibi4on

❸Ar4sts/ art works at the exhibi4on

Tone:・mostly informative

・persuasive

・appropriate to the purpose

Language: *should not use art world jargons difficult to understand *specific terms elaborate ・help audience to better understand

*emphasise the key words ・by repeating the words

・appear frequently in the

curatorial statement emphasise main ideas *help audience to understand the central aims of the exhibition

DiscussionBased on what we have introduced you on the

tone, the style and the wordings and structure, etc.

Try and analyse a curatorial statement, you might want to consider the following:

- How should a curatorial statement be structured?

- What style did the writer use?- What are the keywords?and consequently…- What are their effects?

“In-between Hong Kong and China – mediation as a world-making process”

By Isaac Leung, for “One World Expo”

-The End-

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