Curationism: How Curating Took Over the Art World and Everything Else

by David Balzer (Contributor)

Now that we 'curate' even lunch, what happens to the role of the connoisseur in contemporary culture?

‘Curate’ has become a buzzword, applied to everything from music festivals to artisanal cheese. Inside the art world, the curator reigns supreme, acting as the face of high-profile group shows in a way that can eclipse the contributions of individual artists. At the same time, curatorial-studies programs continue to grow, and businesses are adopting curation as a means of adding value to content. Everyone, it seems, is now a curator.

But what is a curator, exactly? And what does the explosive popularity of curating say about our culture’s relationship with taste, labour and the avant-garde? In this vibrant and original book, David Balzer travels through art history and around the globe to explore the cult of curation, where it began, how it came to dominate museums and galleries, and how it emerged at the turn of the millennium as a dominant mode of thinking and being — from superstar curator Hans Ulrich Obrist’s war with sleep to Subway’s ‘sandwich artists.’ Recalling such landmark works of cultural criticism as Tom Wolfe’s The Painted Word and John Berger’s Ways of Seeing, Balzer asks whether curationism has finally reached its own limits, where its widespread success has paradoxically led to its own demise.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History, Museums, Theory, Art History, Cultural

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 18, 2014

Reviews

[Ugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 40 not-very-densely-typed pages of Curationism (Pluto Press), David Balzer manages to undermine one of my more firmly entrenched ideas of myself, as well as my idealisation of work and one of my burgeoning fantasies. He also drags into the light one unpleasant truth I hadn't fully acknowledged.

These are, in turn:
That because I don't buy much, I'm not a mindless consumer (when actually I quite mindlessly consume many things; it's just that they're cheap or free).
That doing something you love as a job is exclusively a good thing (I still think it's mostly a good thing, but now I'm mindful of the danger of work, even the best kinds of work, being devalued by people agreeing to do it without being properly recompensed).
That curating is glamorous and I'd like to do it.
That I "curate" content for others using Twitter etc because I'm yearning to connect with people.
The ideas in Curationism may not all originate with Balzer, but no matter: he has - argh, don't, don't; yes, yes, I'm gonna - curated them (and rewritten and reformulated them, obviously) very well. And, of course, they were new to me.

Curationism describes the rise of curation in the art world and, more recently, in our daily lives, and then deftly considers its prospects in each. The first 90 pages, setting out the history of the subject matter, are not so deft as the final 40, but in keeping the whole short and ending so strongly Balzer gives us a book that feels timely, informative and insightful.

Perhaps most tellingly, he made me want to spend less time reading articles about contemporary culture online and more time reading well written and edited short books about it instead.

I still followed him on Twitter, though.

[Michael Belcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a phenomenally impactful read, full of useful history and dense argumentation. My biases leaning towards some of what Balzer would consider the excesses of curation, I had to continually remind myself to be open to his opinions, and I am all the better for it. Balzer does not just sink optimistic notions about curation's value, he blows them out of the water, firing a barrage of both erudite and smartly chosen pop culture references. The only real reason I gave this a 4-star review is because Balzer rarely includes counter arguments to his bold and brazen litany of annoyances, making his viewpoint seem downright apocalyptic at times. That is not to say he is wrong, but sometimes he torpedoes all faith in curation's power to transform the viewer through artistic choice, and I think that stance is a bit too overstated. Also, I kept wanting Balzer to position himself amongst the readers, which he only does at the very end with a long-awaited personal anecdote, instead of gazing down at us from on high with arched eyebrow. In a way, he sometimes embodies the all-powerful authoritarianism he disdains in others (and he completely ignores the fact that, by culling together knowledge and presenting it in a new form for easier consumption and the creation of a particular narrative, Balzer himself is a curator). All that being said, this is a fantastically nuanced must-read for anyone aspiring to be a curator, a teacher of curation, and curators themselves. Highly recommended despite its few flaws and, at times, rampant cynicism.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give Curationsim a 3.5/4, leaving myself the open possibility to add a star if in a few years I’ll read it again, as I intend to. The book focuses on curation as a profession and a recent phenomenon, beginning with an inquiry on the etymological roots of the term and then tracking the use of the world till now, the era in which anything can be curated, from a playlist to a lunch.
The book has an interesting aim and take on the subject, but even given its short length, I found it painfully hard to read. It's made of only three chapters, structured around a long, intricated discourse that has barely any interruptions. This means that unless you're planning on reading the whole book in a sitting (a task that the over-complicated construction of the texts makes impossible), you will have to put the book down leaving your bookmark in the middle of an argument, and find yourself a bit lost when you get back to reading. Also, the book is structured as a sort of endless, informative lecture, delivered from a field expert who wants to make sure he sounds like an expert, talking to someone on his same level of experience. The author keeps bringing up artist without introducing their work, introducing concepts and theories without explaining them, and so on. I'm not saying that the text is incomprehensible, but it is definitely too heavy and filled with half-explained referenced to be accessible a non-art world public, which is what the author claims to be his target in the introduction. In conclusion, it was an interesting but not particularly enjoyable reading, and I'm curious to know if my opinion will change if I read it again in a few years time.

[Denna Bee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was like a bad tinder date, where the first half I had to listen to all the "Cool" things this guy knows, followed by a second half that made it seem like the date was going a lot better, but only comparatively to the first portion. So I end up going all the way aka finishing the book, but really just wasting my time in partaking in it. Disappointed as I love the exploded views series.

[Iulia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curating = Demystifying & remystifying arts and culture.

[aa · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Balzer merupakan seorang penulis yang mana sering berkontribusi pada publikasi-publikasi buku yang membahas tentang seni dan kesenian. Pada buku “Curationism” ini Balzer membahas tentang praktik kuratorial serta hal-hal yang mengelilingi topik tersebut.
Pada bagian awal buku terdapat bagian Introduction dimana Balzer menjelaskan tentang latar belakang dan kisah bagaimana ia melakukan riset-riset untuk menulis buku ini. Dijelaskan bahwa Balzer melakukan sebuah wawancara dengan Christov-Bakargiev selaku direktur artistik dari Documenta 13 pada tahun 2012. Diskusi yang di highlight adalah diskusi seputar kurator dan maknanya, di dalam maupun di luar konteks seni. Yang menarik perhatian saya adalah kutipan Christov-Bakargiev yang bilang bahwa dengan meningkatnya penggunaan kata ‘kurator’ yang bersifat nomina atau kata benda serta kara kerjanya yang adalah ‘kurator’, pertanyaan tentang bagaimana memaknai hal tersebut sekarang merupakan pertanyaan sosiologis dan bukan lagi pertanyaan seni. Christov-Bakargiev menambahkan bahwa sekarang kita hidup di masa dimana semua orang takut akan kesamaan atau kemonotonan, maka mereka akan berusaha untuk menciptakan sebuah perbedaan dan akan timbul rasa kegelisahan yang mana seseorang dapat merasa presensinya tak ada jika dia tidak berbeda dengan yang lainnya. Namun bukan hanya disitu, Christov-Bakargiev melanjutnya perkataannya dengan mengatakan bahwa meski begitu kita sekarang tetaplah sama, dengan penggunaan barang yang sama, namun disorong oleh pemikiran dimana kita ingin menjadi berbeda. Pernyataan tersebut sangat akurat dan personal dimata saya karena pada realitanya hal tersebut memang terjadi dan saya rasakan dan saksikan juga terjadi di lingkungan saya. Keinginan untuk menjadi berbeda itu merupakan gerakkan yang dilakukan bukan hanya oleh satu orang, dan dengan banyak orang juga yang ingin menjadi berbeda menciptakan sebuah kesamaan sendiri yaitu sifat itu sendiri walau sebenarnya sedari lahir kita satu sama lain sudah berbeda.
Diskusi tersebut menjadi sebuah awalan pembahasan mengenai kurasi yang unik menurut saya, karena cakupan yang diambil sangatlah umum, dimana dengan perasaan tersebut timbullah rasa memilih suatu hal yang dinilai berbeda bagi seseorang. Balzer sendiri menuliskan bahwa ia tidak ingin buku ini untuk fokus kepada pemahaman yang populer mengenai kurasi sebagai ekspresi dari sebuah rasa, kepekaan, dan juga keahlian.
Buku ini membahas tentang pemahaman kurasi yang mana sebagai perluasan dari praktik museum dan juga galeri, yaitu tindakan dari memilah, menyusun, serta menyajikan. Balzer menambahkan bahwa perlu diingat juga bahwa lab genetik juga melakukan hal yang sama namun dengan data saintifik. Kata kurasi sekarang bukan hanya sebuah kata kerja, namun juga ada kata sifatnya, kuratorial, serta kata bendanya, yaitu dalam bahasa Inggrisnya curation.
Dalam buku ini, sang penulis ingin, dan saya kira berhasil membahas tentang bagaimana kurator bisa melangit, bagaimana praktik dari seorang kurasi ini bisa menyaru ke dalam budaya populer, terutama pada penggunanya yang bersifat konsumeris yang mana awalnya saya kurang setuju dengan pernyataan itu, namun pada beberapa halaman berikutnya terdapat kalimat yang mana saya tangkap menjadi sebuah penjelas yang melengkapi pernyataan tersebut yang mengatakan bahwa kurator telah menjadi ahli dalam mempersembahkan pameran maupun biennal yang tampil radikal serta kontradiktif pada museum itu sendiri, rezim, perilaku dan kode umum karena kurator itu sebenarnya ya memang menggunakan hal tersebut untuk menarik dan memikat audiens serta untuk menaikkan modal budaya yang diangkat oleh acara yang dikuratorinya. Hal ini sangat menarik bagi saya karena buku ini bisa dengan sangat teliti berhasil memikat dan meluruskan pandangannya yang saya kira janggal. Belzer, saya kira, dalam buku ini memang banyak menuliskan pendapatnya yang mana tidak dijelaskan secara mendalam di awal, namun dengan sejalannya aliran buku, pembaca akan mengerti apa yang dimaksud Belzer dengan informasi-informasi baru yang sebenarnya merupakan sebuah informasi tambahan dari pendapat Belzer sebelumnya.
Dituliskan bahwa kurator merupakan pekerjaan yang sangatlah bersifat lambang dan hal ini perlu disadari karena biasanya pekerjaan kurasi ini berserikat dengan kapitalisme dan budayanya. Belzer menambahkan kutipan dari Tom Wolfe dari bukunya yang berjudul The Painted World, bahwasanya dunia Seni segan untuk mengakui afiliasi fundamentilnya, asal mulanya, kaum borjuisnya, serta akibatnya yang menciptakan objektifikasi. Disini saya berpendapat bahwa hal ini mungkin sudah disadari oleh banyak kalangan, khususnya pada pada cendekiawan yang memukakan pemikirannya mengenai kesenjangan atau strata sosial dimana mereka menonjolkan fakta bahwa seni hanya dapat dinikmati oleh kaum kelas atas dan ada pula istilah tentang seni tinggi dan seni rendah setelah itu. Namun pemikiran ini direspon langsung oleh Balzer yang mengatakan bahwa target pasar dari buku ini adalah untuk umum, dan bukan dikhususkan untuk dunia seni ataupun dunia akademik walaupun ya pastinya buku ini sangat terpengaruh oleh kedua hal tersebut.
Sepanjang buku ini, saya kira hal itu dituliskan Belzer untuk menyetir alur dan pemikiran sang pembaca untuk mengeneralisasikan pembahasan mengenai kurator dan kurasi dalam buku ini. Karena tak bisa juga dipungkiri bahwa pembahasan ini pasti akan terus menyinggung tentang seni karena dalam buku ini pun banyak sekali membahas tentang kurator-kurator seni ternama seperti HUO atau Hans Ulrich Obrist dan Paul O’Neill dan membahas masing-masing dari kurator tersebut dengan sangat mendetail. Saya kira Belzer ini menuliskan bahwa buku ini sebagai buku yang tidak dikhususkan untuk para mendalam seni karena Belzer ingin meluaskan audiensnya. Belzer ingin pembahasan mengenai kurator dan kurasi ini bisa diterima dengan mudah diterima oleh masyarakat umum yang luas dalam artian masyarakat ini tak akan merasa apa yang dibacanya ini diluar dari lingkup atau cakupan mereka jikalau mereka tak juga berada atau mendalami dunia seni. Hal ini saya simpulkan dari pembahasan-pembahasan mengenai Hans Ulrich Obrist yang begitu menyeluruh, dengan informasi mengenai latar belakangnya Hans Ulrich Obrist sendiri yang beranjak dari lingkungan yang mana bukan dari dunia seni pula.
Belzer banyak juga menyelipkan pendapat-pendapatnya yang dapat dilihat seperti mengejek atau lebih tepatnya me-mocking sebuah topikyang sedang dibahasnya di sela-sela tulisan dalam alur buku yang ia sendiri tuliskan. Dalam pandangan saya, hal ini membuat para pembaca seolah-olah sedang diceritakan oleh Belzer secara personal.
Kembali ke pembahasan tentang kurasi, pada bab kedua yang berjudul ‘Work’, Belzer kembali ke dunia seni namun tetap membungkus tulisannya dengan pembahasan-pembahasan umum. Belzer membawa pernyataan Joseph Beuys yang terkenal, yaitu “Every human being is an artist” dan menyambungkan hal tersebut dengan memasak, dimana itu merupakan sebuah skill yang mana bersifat lebih umum, bukan yang dianggap sebagai sesuatu yang jarang atau ‘wah’. Namun fungsi dan kehadirannya itu sering dianggap sinestetik.
Belzer kemudian kembali membahas pengertian pekerjaan kurasi yang mana ia mengambil contoh Hans Ulrich Obrist yang secara agresif mendefinisikan pekerjaan kuratorialnya sebagai kerja buruh yang mana kemudia ia membranding, menganggap, mengecap dirinya sebagai seorang hyper-industrial. Bagi para kurator-kurator kontemporer yang memiliki nilai pinjaman bukan hanya kepada para institusi yang kerjanya berorientasi kepada audiens namun juga kepada dirinya sendiri sebagai kurator kontemporer yang dipekerjakan dan juga digaji, Hans Ulrich Obrist merupakan seorang innovator dan bahkan heroik karena kesadarannya mengenai kegunaan bidang dan dunia industri.
Lalu di bab ini Belzer juga menyinggung tentang parameter di dunia nyata sekarang ini pada bidang kerja, tak bisa dipungkiri adalah pencapaian pengalaman dan dalam bidang ini contohnya adalah ‘star curator’ yang mana sebelumnya merupakan seorang direktur sebuah galeri atau museum, yang mana mendapatknya pandangan besar dan ipedoman mengenai institusi besar seperti biennale, yang mana dia akan mengisi acara didalamnya, berkunjung secara rutin ke galeri-galeri seniman, menuliskan tentang pengalaman dan mengisi dan menulis di pameran yang mana merupakan koleganya. Sebenarnya ‘star curator’ ini mengisi persentase kecil dari ‘working curator’, namun dalam pandangan konseptual dari studi kuratorialnya Teresa Gleadowe, ekspresi professional untuk mengkurasi yang dibutuhkan ini memenuhi apa yang ia sebuh theory-heavy leadership-and-visioning seminars.
Belzer pun juga menjabarkan pendapat pendapat kurator seperti Hans Ulrich Obrist untuk para pelajar kurasi, lalu pekerjaan kurator dalam sebuah pameran dan cakupannya, dan apa yang dikiranya hal-hal yang perlu orang dalam maupun luar seni ketahui tentang kurator sebagai seorang pekerja dan kurasi sebagai pekerjaan yang dilakukan.
Pada keseluruhan buku, saya kira untuk kata mendeskripsikannya adalah menyenangkan, sebab selain penulisnya yang menggunakan bahasa sehari-hari yang gaya penulisan yang mana sering ia sisipkan pendapat personalnya tanpa menghilangkan suasanya keseriusan dari pembahasan, buku ini juga menggunakan sudut pandang orang pertama, yang mana semakin membuat tulisan buku ini benar-benar seperti diceritakan secara langsung oleh sang penulis, David Balzer.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was painful to read. I felt in reading this book a severe case of ostentatiousness in Belzer’s writing style. If the goal was to attempt to raise curators and the idea of curation on a pedestal, there would have been more subtle ways to accomplish this. Perhaps this is a symptom of lengthy immersion of oneself in the art world? In describing Karen Love’s Curatorial Toolkit, Belzer quotes her as saying “the process can be exhausting.” The same thought can be applied to getting through his book. Do not recommend.

[Mary Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Besides the fact that in Balzer's redefinition of curators as, essentially, anyone who makes a choice, it's not a bad read. It's pretty short but follows the rise of curators and ponders over how this bubble will pop in the twenty-first century. Good read for anyone interested in the art world or who is pondering museum studies degrees, but it probably won't enthrall anyone else.

[La Hyène · Rating 4 out of 5]

IL termine curare è stato analizzato sotto molteplici aspetti in ogni testo che voglia trattare seriamente il mondo dell’arte di oggi, attribuendo ai curatori i più svariati compiti e le più poliedriche attitudini. A ben guardare il percorso di alcuni di loro, tuttavia, si riscontra un’eterogeneità nella provenienza che non è certamente testimonianza di professionalità, come invece gli interessati vogliono far credere, almeno nel passato. Jean Leering, direttore dello Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum di Eindhoven dal 1964 al 1973, era un ingegnere edile, Walter Hopps, che Obrist definisce «mercuriale iconoclasta», cominciò come agente di musicisti jazz, Seth Siegelaub, energico fautore del concettualismo a New York, era in origine un idraulico, e quando lasciò il mondo dell’arte nel 1972 si trasformò in un conservatore di stampo più tradizionale. Analizzando il loro  background quindi si allontana anni luce il concetto di curatela intesa come custodia e valorizzazione di un patrimonio, appannaggio dei curatori a servizio dei sovrani, ma anche il ruolo ancor più d’indirizzo attribuito in epoca più recente al curato, quale membro della gerarchia ecclesiastica. Indubbiamente la maggior parte dei curatori attuali è formata in università che fanno la loro fortuna nel dispensare corsi particolarmente selettivi e ampi nei programmi, ma che non sempre permettono loro di trovare poi una collocazione nel mondo dell’arte, soprattutto stipendiata. Per non parlare poi della commistione attuale tra curatori, gallerie d’arte e musei, in cui  il curatore che riveste un ruolo istituzionale da un lato, sfrutta tale incarico per  veicolare all’interno dei musei, con acquisizioni talvolta notevolmente onerose, gli stessi artisti che egli rappresenta. Ciò ingenera un conflitto di interessi non disciplinato e che nello stesso tempo nuoce al mondo dell’arte, non permettendo il libero affermarsi degli artisti in quest’ambito. Di tutto questo parla l’ interessantissimo libro di David Balzer , imprescindibile strumento di studio e meditazione!

[Frido Alonso · Rating 5 out of 5]

sometimes when i go to the opera or to an art museum, i find myself lost in a spiral of thoughts that was started by an often ordinary observation about the art i was consuming. when i catch myself, i am always slightly embarrassed- after all, i'm here to engage with culture, not to get lost in thoughts. but honestly, it's also one of my favorite things.
when i read this book, my thoughts kept spiraling into all kinds of weird directions, and the structure of the book didn't exactly make it easier to stay focussed, but it was certainly an incredibly enriching read. i loved learning about the history of curating, and blazers thoughts on the present (as of 2014) and future of the discipline. i think part of the reason i kept getting distracted is that it has hugely gained relevance (as of late 2023) and the intellectual (or: curatorial) groundwork laid by balzer invite to simple, but fun extrapolation and extensions to present day socio-techno-political culture. i will read this book again.

[Godzilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curationism is split into two parts. In the first section, "Value," the book explores the history of curation and curators in art. The second section, "Work," explores the professionalization of curation as well as the role of curation in modern society.

The first section contains interesting tidbits about the how curators came to be. Balzer does a great job of painting modern art landscape. He does this primarily through the analyzing the role of Hans-Ulrich Obrist.

The second section was more interesting to me. A few interesting arguments/tidbits:
-He argues that Madonna is the ultimate curator
-Explores how nowadaways everyone is a curator, which renders the entire act of curation uninteresting

One thought: The book is targeted at the general public. And Balzer writes a bit about content curation. But he doesn't really explore the idea of editing or being an editor, which--arguably--is also a highly impactful form of curation.

[Jen (Remembered Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second section of this book, which deals with the rise of the "everyone is a curator" trend, is an engaging and interesting read. It's very much in line with the other entries in Coach House's Exploded Views series.

The first section, which details the rise of curators and the life cycle of the avant-garde is written is such an absurdly pompous style that at first I assumed it had to be parody. After 90 pages I'd decided it couldn't be (it stops being funny/quirky quickly), and accepted it as the author's style - but since the second section isn't written in that over-the-top manner, that's clearly not the case either.

There's plenty of interesting information in this one, but I'm not sure it's worth having to dig through the style choices of the first half to learn about it.

[Giulia Ambrosi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alcune parti, quelle più attuali dove si parla del fenomeno del curazionismo nella vita quotidiana mi sono piaciute più di altre. Un libro non semplicissimo per me che ho iniziato da poco ad approcciarmi al mondo della curatela. Sicuramente la realtà che si nasconde dietro la professione del curatore viene descritta molto bene, è facile coglierne l'atmosfera, gli obblighi e i contesti. Se avevate preso in considerazione l'idea di "fare i curatori" il libro fa al caso vostro... Ma per farvi ricredere.

[Louis Holstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me way to long to finish this short (yet incredibly dense) read, but I finally did! David Balzer provides a abridged art history lesson and the delves into critique of our current obsession with curationism not only in the art world (though he spends considerable time here) but also outside of it as well. I found the read to be refreshing and gave me PLENTY to chew on for the weeks to come. I’ll be revisiting this one from time to time, no question.

[Navya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would, most likely because I went in with different expectations.

I was looking forward to understanding the phenomenon of curationism a bit more. And while there is some of that, this book is primarily a primer of the history and role description of a museum/art gallery curator. The content is not not interesting, but it is niche and specific, and more fact laden than a discourse.

[Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book blabs on and on about "famous" curators, says that curating is a dying field with too many "gallerinas", then ends with rambling nonsense about how contestants on Survivor are curators... It didn't deliver what I expected from the blurb.

[Lilla Jabberwatkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye-opening. It draws interesting connections between curatorial practice and our increasingly "curationist" world that I would have never thought to make. Incredibly real- it tells the hard truths all aspiring curators should face before embarking on their journey.

[Chickenluv21 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts of really great. Looses structure and meaning in the final chapter.
It is a good resource if you are feeling a little lost on what it means to be a curator in the 21st century or want to briefly recount the history of the discipline.

[Jessie B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting ideas but kinda dry

[C Bdd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

[Hanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

A verrrrrrrrrrry pretentious book lol

[Kai Lin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curacissus. Falling in-love with who we present ourselves to be.

[Vicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

"El curacionismo, parece que ha olvidado la raíz misma del "curador": cura o care (cuidado) y, por extensión, genuina curiosidad"

[Elizabeth Schlatter · Rating 4 out of 5]

To oversimplify, this slim book provides a brief but solid overview of contemporary art curating focusing largely on the past 50-plus years, an examination and interpretation of how "curating" has migrated beyond the art world into everyone's life (largely in the U.S. and Canada), and rants about professionalism of the curatorial "industry," the over application of the word "curate," of super curators like Hans Ulrich Obrist, and, finally, capitalism and Western greed. Not to mention fun digressions on the topics of interior decorating, relational aesthetics, party planning, curatorial studies programs, celebrity taste-makers and just plain old celebrities. The author is so cranky that it's rather fun to witness him criticize nearly every topic that he takes on, from museums to fashion to travel to Facebook, etc. Basically anything within the cultural realm is fair game.

I'm a plain vanilla museum curator of contemporary and modern art. As such, it's a little hard for me to read books such as this, meaning books that tackle the curatorial profession, its underpinnings and theory, as well as curation "at large." I think a big part of the problem is that I'm overly familiar with the topic. Reading parts of this book, like others in a similar vein, is like having someone tell you in detail about the weather you are experiencing in real time (e.g. “Right now there are light strains of clouds in the sky that move westward, with a slight dew remaining on the flowers. The temperature is 86 with warmer winds facing east…”) I much prefer standing on my porch and feeling this than having someone narrate it. Having a spotlight on my current "spot" feels redundant.

Second, I think this topic of the over- "curation" of society has been explored extensively already in art press and popular press, including largely blogs, as well as books. I wrote on the topic myself (albeit in a much scanter fashion) in a 2010 article in "Museum News," published by the American Association of Museums. However, Balzer's book is quite well written and his occasional tangents (Gwyneth Paltrow's splitting with husband Chris Martin?) actually make sense in his polemical scaffolding. It does seem as if this book might be too firmly topical, to be honest. And I wish he'd included footnotes or at least a bibliography even though he firmly chose not to (why???).

But I do love how he attacks the art world for its hypocrisies, classism, and hegemony (hate using that academic word but it's appropriate here.) Some favorite quotes are below:

From international curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev: "We now live in a society where everyone [fears] they're the same, so they want to specify and differentiate. My playlist is different from your playlist; my Facebook page is different from your Facebook page. It's a sense of anxiety, where you think you don't exist if you're not different from everybody else. You can't be part of the multitude." (p. 7)

From the author himself: "The star curator has created an incestuous cycle that signals the end of the avant-garde. Instead of finding and advocating for the new, she immediately orders and manicures it, negating the very possibility of newness." (p.61)

From Pamela M. Lee, a scholar at Stanford: "[Curatorial Studies programs] are the world's most glamorous vocational schools. … but a cash cow to older, more established programs in art history." And, "The vocational dimension of the curatorial program that I kind of tossed off in that statement addresses, in a band-aid-like way, the worry about what it is that one accomplishes when one gets a degree in art history or a related field, visual or cultural studies." (p.112)

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sometimes rambling but always coherent and engaging extended essay about how contemporary late capitalism has made us all curators while simultaneously destroying the role of the curator. It does a great job of compellingly discussing the history and shifting meaning of curating, and kind of how it's gone a bit wrong since the 1960s when that generation of curators became all about 'demystifying and then remystifying' art. This is the curator as genius channeling the essence of the art to the masses, while also building up his/her own value. And this is also where the post 1990s 'superstar' curators come into it. The problem is that, as curationism has become more glamorous on the mass cultural stage, celebrities are now curating random stuff, as is just about everyone else with who's ever heard of the internet (indeed, is my quest to review what I read on Goodreads not just part of the curationist impulse to own, catalogue and badger everyone else with my impeccable taste?). Indeed, as everything from clothing to breakfast is now curated, what exactly is the process of - and the meaning attached to - the work of a curator? As David Balzer ends his essay by asking, has curation been subsumed by contemporary culture's consumerism run amok?

The book also has some pretty intense and damning criticism of the art world, which I found fascinating. Again, this is linked to more general issues of the culture at large, particularly the idea that as long as you're 'doing what you love' things like getting paid shouldn't matter. It also critiques contemporary curatorial studies programs for being airy fairy and frequently light on hard skills, while the vast majority of the work of curating an exhibition involves some pretty non-glamorous project management. There's also some commentary on museums and galleries shifting agendas and exhibitions in order not just to attract more viewers, but to become more commercially successful and financially efficient. None of this critique is new, but Balzer does a good job of connecting these macro issues to the micro issues of how exhibition content is selected.

As someone who loves art, works with art, and frequently asks myself, what is the point of this all, I found Curationism a relief from the frequently jumbled and poorly put together treatises on just how great everything about the art world is these days (read my review of HUO's On Curating, which I just read ... and which David Balzer spends a bit of time respectfully, but rather thoroughly, eviscerating). I left the art world once because being a curator seemed far too close to being a glorified shop assistant serving the global super rich. In order for art to achieve its full power, rather than languishing in an ineffectual realm of neutered representation, it must examine the political economic conditions of artistic production and make changes not in the realm of content, but in the realm of process. And reading this tiny book gave me the language to say that, even if it had been floating around at the back of my head for awhile.

[Alicia Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

You are more than what you like.

This book begins as a tearing-apart of modern art politics and production, which I know nada about.

The second half is disorganized in a way I like, a manic tangent by someone brimming with worthy ideas, the only sort of seriousish conversation I enjoy while drinking. Of course, I wasn't drinking while reading this, but whatevs.

Yet again, I find myself (hypocritically?) drawn to a writer's underlying critique of capitalism. Sure, there's a lot to be said regarding the absurdities of curation; but I generally prefer to not deconstruct my sock choices. I'm thinking more of the DWYL (do what you love) BS which is shoved down our throats. It's an ideal which is financially unrealistic for the majority of people, which in turn cheapens the value of work being done. Balzer understandably focuses on the arts. Coming from an education background, I want to jump on a soapbox in a Lenin t-shirt screaming at teachers to demand adequate compensation beyond the homey comfort of "doing it for the kids." There's a good Leonard Cohen quote out there, something to the effect of, "I love what I do, but I still expect to be paid for it."

More or less, we all curate our lives, consciously or not. Our curation exploits serve to limit our identities to what we consume. Because the internet scrapes all data, our curation of our own consumption feeds back into the cycle of "now buy this" on a level which makes Amazon suggestions seem charming and quaint.

I think I've topped myself in writing a review which tells you next to nothing in the sense of book summation.

[sabryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

💫

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

A thought-provoking and entertaining look at the phenomenon of curating. David Balzer examines the rise of curating and its links with the avant-grade movement in art, and how curating developed and spread into museums, fashion, and every part of popular culture. He uses a fascinating range of examples to illustrate his points, from the Early Modern Wunderkammer to Naoshima Island to Gwyneth Paltrow's 'conscious uncoupling'.

The style is generally accessible, although occasionally the academic language in passages dealing with theories becomes a bit dry, and it does presuppose some knowledge of these theories. However, Balzer shows some tongue in cheek humour, the arguments are strong and cogent (particularly so in his analysis of modern curatorial studies courses and the role of internships) and the book will definitely appeal to those who are interested in museums, galleries, and the development of popular culture.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise and easy-to-read history of the curating profession. Highly recommended for young artists and hoping-to-be art professionals, as it illuminates and weaves through the politics surrounding contemporary art, curating, art careers, and the education that is "required". It's also very contemporary, ending with a summation of "normcore" and the rebellion from young artists against curation and individuality.

I picked up this book blindly, browsing through the shelves on a slow day - and it ended up being one of the better books on contemporary art that I've read in a while. Pleasant surprise!

I give it four stars because a strong and tight beginning leads to a wobbly middle and a seemingly cobbled-together ending. But, it's to be expected when writing about issues so tied to the contemporary and without any definite conclusions or answers.

[Angela]

Why I'm interested in this book at the first place
One of the books listed under Materiality & Value of Art In Flux , a Listopia(link).

What do I think of this book... now that I've done reading it
I was excited initially, because I hoped it's a book on the art of curationism, alas, no, it's about curationism in the art world. Uhm, okay.

+
1. Below are my accomplishments while reading this book by chapters:

Introduction - completed
Prologue: Who is HOU? - completed
Part 1: Value - 17/70
Part 2: Work - 10/42

2. I love the cover.

-
1. You will need patience to read this book. Don't get me wrong, puttting myself in the commonplace as an art noob, I got bored eventually.

Get this
1. This is strictly, for my fellow art connoisseurs.