One comment, coming into the conversation way late...
Alessandro (as well as others) brought up work in editorial
capacities, and it seems to me, as someone who has also operated as
editor/artist/curator in various forums, that curating can easily be
thought of as an editorial activity. And for anyone who has ever read
an edited compilation or anthology (esp academic texts), such books
are practically guaranteed to contain work by the editor(s). Artists
who curate (at least those i know), almost exclusively organize shows/
events around topics that are extremely close to, if not completely
derivative of, their own work and interests as an artist.
In the (idealistic) end, i think the goal is to generate discourse
and conversation about something. Professionalism (or careerism, if
you will) that involves self-promotion and nepotism certainly can't
be ignored as a problematic. But that doesn't seem like something a
curator/artist should be that worried about from a creative
perspective. The career CV police can catch the redundancy if it's
there.
But to couch this discussion in the language of "ethics" seems a bit
dramatic. What's really at stake here?
Happy New Year,
ryan
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