I think this essay is interesting as it is written not long after the (real)
old boyıs network had established itself in the field (2003). By the mid
1990ıs this was already becoming the case, with the festivals that Monika
writes about shifting from being run by artists and/or enthusiasts to
professional directors and curators. The same was happening with magazines
and other initiatives. The 1980ıs were certainly the time when things were
up for grabs, when definitions and roles were still highly motile. The funny
thing is that back then everyone in the area was calling for the development
of a critical language, curatorial agendaıs and recognition from the powerıs
that be (the museums, funding councils, magazines, etc). Well, that happened
but as is so often the case not quite as people expected. The gatekeepers
and Ostarı artists that dominate the field today are largely not
representative of those who were instrumental in the 1970ıs and 80ıs in
establishing the field.
Regards
Simon
On 3/1/09 22:42, "roger malina" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> List
> I meant to mention this before but Monika Fleischmann did a study
> in 2002, or maybe before, on "gatekeeping' in the new media arts
>
> http://netzspannung.org/cat/servlet/CatServlet/$files/308998/Fleischmann_Gatek
> eeping_2003_en.pdf
>
> and in the people she interviewed= its clear many of the organisations and
> curators
> that organised exhibitions were very much in the advocacy mode in the 1980s
> at times when
> very few museums or established venues had any interest in new media art= (
> is computer
> art , art ?)=pioneering artists found themselves organising venues to show
> work of themselves
> and their colleagues
>
> it took a long time before 'professional curators' appeared in the new media
> scene
> (where were the whitney or the tate then ?)
>
> but as Fleischman points out the 'old boys networks' very quickly get
> established and curators
> play a very different role than did the artists who organised exhibits (
> never mind the galleries
> that sign artists under contract and then serve as curators for museums
> showing their stable
> of artists)
>
> yeah-maybe ethics isnt the right world, but something to do with integrity
> anyway
>
> roger malina
Simon Biggs
Research Professor
edinburgh college of art
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