Artist Run = Emerging: A Bad Equation
If one were to take seriously the autonomy suggested by the term ‘artist-run’, then the assumed natural dominance and superior expertise of many other professional players in the so-called culture industry, would be called into question.
Out of the Past: Beyond the Four Fundamental Fallacies of Artist Run Initiatives
Over time the role and function of Artist Run Initiatives (ARIs) has shifted from one of quasi-resistance and the questioning of commonly held (essentially commercial) perceptions of contemporary art, to one largely of acquiescence and thoughtless professionalism. Luckily, there are still aberrations and exceptions to this rule.
Plenty of Nothing; Art/Money/Installation
Even today, installation art, properly defined by its dependency on site and its irreducibility to isolable components, poses especial challenges. Never is this truer than when the installation art in question appears to exhibit ‘nothing’. In a global climate founded squarely on reinvigorated traditionalist principles of material accumulation, contemporary installations in which ‘nothing’ is exhibited pose important questions concerning art’s value.
Art/Social/Capital
The massive mediation of our contemporary cultural terrain obviously has a notable impact on the activities of contemporary art, particularly in a globalised context. In fact, what is especially noteworthy about much contemporary art impacted by this communication imperative, is its heightened emphasis on the value of communicability itself.
New Worlds Inc. the Global Museum Franchise
A new cultural district in Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, incorporates new lavish outposts of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums. These particular ‘outposts’ will feature specially designed buildings by high-ranking glitterati of the international architecture firmament, Frank Gehry and Jean Nouvel. The resulting ‘utopia’ is of a kind that only the conjoined cooperation of global multinationals could conjure.
To produce value under Capital is a misfortune because it means producing value for somebody else.