WORSE THINGS HAVE HAPPENED

My response to my recent readings on curating is probably most effective when used as a extension of the Paper Monument book “I Like Your Work”. It is a short hand list that takes all of the advice presented to me in the last week about how to put on a successful show, and compiles it as a checklist for the general use of young curators who are looking to open alternative spaces in our one-bedroom apartments.

The advice is about common mistakes. These should be avoided at all costs. If it is helpful, the list can run through daily until the opening of the exhibition, to check if any of these lethal problems are posing a threat to your exhibition.

THINGS THAT WILL RUIN AN EXHIBITION 

-       market driven tendencies

-       curating shows by committee

-       reluctance to assert oneself

-       poor communication about one’s doubt in the ability of one’s co-workers

-       the Artistic Ego

-       vagueness of purpose

-       illusions of grandeur

-       fat catalogues

-       half cooked things

-       things that are not explicit

-       square feet

-       people reading the plaques

-       showing ‘good’ work

-       not showing the ‘best’ work

-       a greatest hits album

-       yielding to special pleading

-       having un-flexible architecture

-       having overly flexible architecture

-       showing work that is too big

-       showing work that is not big enough

-       showing an artist who is too famous

-       showing an artist that is not famous enough

-       showing Banksy

-       giving out kazoos

Why do we bother putting on exhibitions? The smallest thing can make an exhibition go wrong, but if it goes right, it can fulfill your wildest dreams: Exhibitions are simple, All the motivation is in the outcome.

THINGS A WELL EXECUTED EHIBITION CAN BE

-       a social practice

-       a play

-       a musical

-       an epic

-       a career launcher

-       a career maker

-       a career saver

-       an opportunity to see familiar works in a new light

-       a vehicle for social change

-       a religious experience

-       a socio-political litmus test

-       a puppet show

-       a chance to have some input in a cultural conversation

-       a chance to stand up for yourself

-       a means by which to test the loyalty of your friends and peers

-       a chance to perform critical thought

-       a space for critical thought

-       a chance for communication

-       a questioning of dominant morals and values

-       a promotion of diversity of thoughts, identities, and bodies

-       a place to meet a blind date for lunch

-       a background for parties that looks good in photographs

-       a means of income

-       a tax write-off

-       a way to reaffirm that there is a group of artists who share your aesthetic

-       a séance which can momentarily resurrect a dead artist

-       a re-writing of visual and cultural history

-       an  awesome keg party which introduces you to a new sexual partner

-       an opportunity to finally get some recognition around here

-       a viable reason to visit your friends in Brooklyn

Take this condensed advice and run with it, but remember, you only have 30 minutes of the viewers’ attention to work with.  Good Luck.