The most notable thing about students is their appalling lack of knowledge
of art history in general and of more recent work, prior to current
practice, in particular (eg: anything not in the current mass media or
mainstream art magazines).

Most students are aware of the work of the Wilson Twins, Martin Creed or
Tracy Emin and consider this the epitome of artists moving image and
post-object conceptualism. That is OK but they are unable to see the work of
these artists in context as they are unaware of important earlier work by
their precursors.

Shows such as Nauman at Tate Modern or the current Acconci at FACT are
extremely welcome as they allow artists whose practice has largely developed
in recent history to reappear in mainstream arts discourse and thus enter
the consciousness of the current generation of art students. Without these
shows today's student practice would be cast adrift in a decontextualised
bubble containing whatever last won the Turner Prize (usually the work of a
recent graduate itself).

The same is true of space as for time. UK students are aware of what is
fashionable in the UK (read London) artworld but only half aware of what is
going on in the US. They are totally ignorant of developments in non-English
speaking cultures. Again this is due to their lack of engagement with books,
journals or other informative sources beyond the dominant art media (this
often seems to consist of the Daily Mirror) :( Due to this we are annually
invited to engage with naive re-runs of ignorant re-runs.

As somebody who works in an art school I should take my measure of blame for
this situation as surely one of our key responsibilities is to ensure that
our students are not ignorant of the context they are working within.
However, it is simply the case that there is so much data these students are
required to engage with (economic, social, political, artistic, historic,
philosophical, etc) and I guess we forget how long it took us to learn all
this stuff. Trying to pack it all into three years is a little hopeful.

Best

Simon


On 30.04.05 00:12, "Automatic digest processor" <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> There is one message totalling 110 lines in this issue.
>
> Topics of the day:
>
>   1. Curating Education 2 / Documentation
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date:    Fri, 29 Apr 2005 11:01:39 +0100
> From:    Beryl Graham <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Curating Education 2 / Documentation
>
> Dear List,
>
> As April draws to a close, I'd like to encourage=20
> all of those on the list to comment on this=20
> month's theme - I'd like to hear about your own=20
> experiences and your own students' understanding=20
> of new media art within the wider field of=20
> contemporary art.
>
> The panel discussion in Sunderland is on the 19th=20
> May, and asks "can curating be taught?" so=20
> perhaps the debate can also go on into May, and=20
> I'll report to the List for those who can't be=20
> there.
>
> Beryl
>
>
> ---
>
> Discussion Event
>
> Curating can be learned, but can it be taught?
>
> Project Room at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland.
> 19th May 2005, 11 am - 5pm
>
> Speakers: Liliane Schneiter, Tim Brennan, Stevan Vukovic and Dorothee Richte=
> r.
>
> Since the establishment of L'=E9cole du Magasin in=20
> Grenoble in the late Eighties, Europe and the US=20
> have seen an exponential rise in the number of=20
> academic courses addressing the issue of curating=20
> contemporary art. Alongside numerous postgraduate=20
> programs, curating modules are also increasingly=20
> being offered to art-students at Ba level, with=20
> exhibition practice becoming part of the broader=20
> curriculum of the academy. This development has=20
> not gone unnoticed, and can be seen as a footnote=20
> to the broader debate about the changing roles of=20
> the artist and the curator, the lack of a=20
> coherent history of curating, and the emergence=20
> of a professionalised culture management sector.=20
> The four speakers will introduce varied examples=20
> of how curating is being taught, and what the=20
> implications of such study is for art, artists=20
> and the academy.
>
> Liliane Schneiter
> Professor of art history & critical studies and=20
> co-director of the program CCC (critical,=20
> curatorial, cyber-media) at the Fine Art Academy,=20
> Geneva. Initiator of the independent new-media=20
> project www.cyberaxe.org.
>
> Tim Brennan
> Artist, currently AHRB fellow at the University=20
> of Sunderland, former Assistant Director of the=20
> MA in Fine Art Administration & Curatorship,=20
> Goldsmiths College, London.
>
> Stevan Vukovic
> Theorist and curator, currently runs curatorial=20
> workshops with young, upcoming curators in=20
> Belgrade, Serbia. His latest curatorial projects=20
> include A Dogumentary Approach, at the Munich=20
> Kunstverein, Belgrade Art Inc, for the Secession,=20
> Vienna, and UFO Belgrade at the Urban Drift=20
> Gallery in Berlin.
>
> Dorothee Richter
> Curator and Art-historian, currently developing a=20
> post-graduate diploma in Curating for the=20
> University of Art and Design in Z=FCrich. Has=20
> collaborated since 1998 with Barnaby Drabble on=20
> research, events and exhibitions about=20
> experimental and critical curating under the=20
> title Curating Degree Zero.
>
> This is one of a series of events accompanying=20
> the tour of the Curating Degree Zero Archive=20
> around England. The Archive was co-founded by=20
> curators Barnaby Drabble and Dorothee Richter,=20
> and the tour is managed and produced by=20
> Situations at the University of the West of=20
> England in Bristol, with the support the Arts=20
> Council of England.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> _________________________________________________________
> Beryl Graham
> Tel: +44 191 515 2896     email:  [log in to unmask]
> Curatorial Resource for Upstart Media Bliss  http://www.crumbweb.org
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of NEW-MEDIA-CURATING Digest - 28 Apr 2005 to 29 Apr 2005 (#2005-80)
> ************************************************************************



Simon Biggs
[log in to unmask]
http://www.littlepig.org.uk/

Professor, Fine Art, Art and Design Research Centre
Sheffield Hallam University, UK
http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/cs/cri/adrc/research2/