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International
Biennale and its Problems
Asmudjo Jono Irianto
The second part of the art seminar in the cp open biennale 2003 carries
the theme of "Art Practices and Politics." Here, art politics
is seen in relation to the production and consumption mechanism of art
including art exhibitions, in which art politics can be simply described
as the motives and aims of the exhibitions, including the desired effects.
Naturally, the motives of one producer, be it the artist or the curator,
will receive reactions from other producers"in this case also art
observers and critics. Probably this is exactly the politics in the art
practices.
The term "exhibition" is important here because it is a channel
for the motives and goals of the art practices, mediated in the art world.
Without the exhibition, a work remains as a silenced power. That is why
art exhibitions and their supporting infrastructure form a very important
part in the practice of the contemporary art practices. But can we have
a "common" understanding that is "similar," in relation
with the art paradigms and discourses? Naturally, the answer is "no,"
as we know that the reality is not like it, and that without problems,
an exhibition space remains merely a dead space that brings us to no "richness."
The Problems and Risks
An art exhibition, no matter how big or small, always represents a "problem"
that actually is composed of complex "reality," layered and
arbitrary. An art exhibition, therefore, indirectly "accommodates"
myriad interests and matters related to its existence. Thus what is being
brought up as "the matter" by the organizer of the exhibition
(or the curator) is a part of the richness and complexity of the discussion
that may arise. Of course, an exhibition mainly shows "the matter"
offered by the curator, although it is highly probable that other parties
may see that "the matter" is not represented, is unseen, or
inappropriate there. This is naturally related to the conflicting interests
among the many parties, whether in the same or different standpoints.
It is the consequence of the contemporary art"especially through
an exhibition"to become the conflict arena or those interests, complete
with all the discussion variables that may be brought up, with all the
parameters or the justifying tools that may be used. In other words, the
same topic can be discussed or justified with myriad points of view that
can be very different to each other, and if necessary, there can be no
meeting points. This reality is not necessarily wrong, at least the contemporary
art exhibition can be a channel for critical discussions for anyone who
wants to be involved"be it in the coffee shops or in the well-known
mass media.
An "exhibition," derived from the "curious" and "analytical"
attitudes of the West surely has many paradoxes in store "at the
moment." The contemporary art exhibition, in particular, is steeped
in such paradoxes. How is it possible for us to believe in a true contemporary
art exhibition, while contemporary art practices are resistant to the
efforts to build a whole and definite understanding about them. Behind
these paradoxes and "impossibility", however, lies the enchantment
to discuss, debate, and display the contemporary art. Perhaps in the developed
countries, contemporary art exhibitions "make life more alive."
That is why in the rich and developed countries, art museums and great
periodic exhibition are built and supported by public fund. It is easy
to guess that the "hot" discussion related to the practice and
presentation of contemporary art becomes an unavoidable part of the contemporary
art exhibitions in the West. We know that at times the famous Whitney
Biennale in the US creates a "heat wave" of debates between
the supporting and the opposing parties. Not only the ones in the "art
world" participate in the debate; a work of contemporary art can
be turned into a political commodity for the mayor of New York when he
banned the display of an YBA artist, Chris Ofili in New York, due to its
depiction of a black Virgin Mary and included elephant dung in his painting.
Many of the positive aspects of contemporary exhibitions do not appear
in the exhibition of Modernist works. As it appear again as a representational
area, the contemporary art via its display opens the way to discussions
on the contemporary culture, including the cultural discourse, which in
this case are the cultural theories and studies. It is understandable
that the discourse brought up in a contemporary art exhibition often touches
no artistic realms, but instead talks about the matters that the art portrays.
In this case the priority is the presentation layers: the reality that
the artist is trying to portray. It is common in contemporary art exhibitions,
not only in developed countries but also in the developing ones, the curator
focuses more on justifying the importance of his or her exhibition by
using the latest cultural theories. This is the trend, and it is not necessarily
wrong to follow trends. This is simply a matter of choices, and related
to the interest sought. In other words, a curator can also organize an
exhibition that focuses on the debates about formal aspects of the displayed
works.
An art exhibition in its climax is a display of works in the exhibition
space. At that time, the display of the exhibition can be read by the
audience with no relations whatsoever to the discourse offered by the
curator; but the audience can also use the offered discourse from the
curator as guidance to "approach" and "read" the displayed
works. In other words, the audience can also enter the realm and the level
of the offered problems. For the art reviewers, meanwhile, it is the nature
of their duty to "inspect" as a whole the display of the exhibition,
both in the realm of the ideas and in the presentation of the works. However,
as is mentioned in the beginning of this article, an art exhibition is
actually too vulnerable to be "maintained" as an offer of ideas
and work presentation.
The Artist and International Art Event
Museums, art galleries, and art exhibitions are currently the part of
the tradition to expose "genius" and "important" artists
to the public. The artist in the Modernist tradition is an important and
auratic individual, as he or she is aloof and distanced to day-to-day
realities. In the contemporary art, the (well-known) artist is an important
individual as his or her work can represent the "problem" of
the contemporary culture, and at the same time can offer the individual
and personal characteristics through the presence of his or her works.
In other words, the contemporary artist has the auratic legacy of the
modern artist; but while in the modern artist the aura is formed by the
escapist attitude away from the dynamics of the popular culture, in the
contemporary artist the aura is no different from that owned by popular
stars"a kind of celebrity aura. What makes it different is only the
space where they appear: the contemporary artists appear in distinguished
and elite art museums, close to the intellectuals, cultural thinkers,
and of course the rich. The movie stars and popular singers, on the other
hand, appear in the spaces and means of the entertainment industry. This
also explains why the museums in the West keep trying to "please"
the public as their effort to widen their audience and receive more visitors.
It is worth thinking that this is also an effort to maintain the fund
received from the public. Similarly, when we observe the curatorial foundations
of the exhibitions, big or small, they all present complex and elaborate
ideas, in line with the development of the Western art discourse that
has now become a layered region of inter-textuality.
Although the contemporary artists in the West appear and behave like
stars from the entertainment world, love sensations and are attention-hungry,
they actually arrive there after a tight, difficult and vicious competition.
The contemporary artists must not only be talented and understand the
paradigms and discourse of the contemporary art, but they also must have
clear strategies. They do not wait to be found, but are instead competing
to expose themselves. The contemporary artists must be very professional
and not hesitant to form relationships with the curators and the elites
of the social arena of the art world. Although the contemporary art do
not believe in "newness," the avant-garde atmosphere actually
lives on. The successful contemporary artists are the ones able to create
a kind of newness drawn and recycled from the old sources. See for example
the popularity of the Young British Artist group. At the end of the day,
just like stars, the well-known contemporary artists will receive the
first chance to appear in big exhibitions. In the common perception about
the quality and the importance of an exhibition, there is a two-way relationship
between the exhibition"s and the artist"s reputations. A new
artist will receive the credibility and is legitimized as an important
artist if he or she is able to appear in the periodic exhibition deemed
as important, such as the Documenta. A big event, on the other hand, also
receives its credibility from the reputations of the artists present in
the event. This is of course not absolute: there are many events and activities
in alternative spaces that try to oppose such tendency. In the contemporary
art this is possible, and there are many exhibitions and artists who grow
from such counter-efforts, until they, too, become trapped in the gained
reputations. This last group is often called the anti-mainstream mainstream.
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