Ways of Curating

by Hans Ulrich Obrist

Drawing on his own experiences and inspirations - from staging his first exhibition in his tiny Zurich kitchen in 1986 to encounters with artists, exhibition makers and thinkers - Hans Ulrich Obrist looks to inspire all those engaged in the creation of culture.

Moving from meetings with artists to the creation of the first public museums in the 18th century, recounting the practice of inspirational figures such as Diaghilev, skipping between exhibitions, continents and centuries, Ways of Curating argues that curation is far from a static practice. Driven by curiosity, at its best it allows us to create the future.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History, Design, Curation, Cultural, Art Design

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Hans Ulrich Obrist is co-director of the Serpentine Gallery in London. Prior to this, he was Curator of the Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris from 2000 to 2006, as well as curator of Museum in progress, Vienna, from 1993 to 2000. Obrist has co-curated over 250 exhibitions since his first exhibition, the Kitchen show (World Soup) in 1991: including 1st Berlin Biennale, 1998; Utopia Station, 2003; 1st & 2nd Moscow Biennale, 2005 and 2007; Lyon Biennale, 2007; and Indian Highway, 2008-2011.
Obrist is the editor of a series of conversation books published by Walther Koenig. He has also edited the writings of Gerhard Richter, Gilbert & George and Louise Bourgeois. He has contributed to over 200 book projects, his recent publications include A Brief History of Curating, dontstopdontstopdontstopdontstop, The future will be…with M/M (Paris), Interview with Hans-Peter Feldmann, and Ai Wei Wei Speaks, along with two volumes of his selected interviews (Interviews: Vol. 1 & 2). The Marathon series of public events was conceived by Hans Ulrich Obrist in Stuttgart in 2005. The first in the Serpentine series, the Interview Marathon in 2006, involved interviews with leading figures in contemporary culture over 24 hours, conducted by Obrist and architect Rem Koolhaas. This was followed by the Experiment Marathon, conceived by Obrist and artist Olafur Eliasson in 2007, the Manifesto Marathon in 2008, the Poetry Marathon in 2009, Map Marathon in 2010, and the Garden Marathon in 2011.
In 2009, Obrist was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). In March 2011, he was awarded the Bard College Award for Curatorial Excellence.

Reviews

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and a good resource for the different exhibitions, projects and ideas spanning Obrist’s career. The second half of the book was mostly a lot of name dropping with a distinct lack of diversity and an obvious preference for working with other rich white men.

Maybe that’s something Obrist can work on for his next book.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book both fascinating and incredibly frustrating, and I don't think it was all Hans Ulrich Obrist's (HUO's) fault. (No really, it's me not you.) It started off good: talking about the nature of art and curating, the history of exhibitions and name checking some compelling and sometimes surprising inspirations such as Edouard Glissant, Alighero Boetti and JL Austen, to name a few. I liked HUO's discussions of how knowledge is - and has been - created through exhibitions, and his descriptions of his early exhibitions and his underlying motivation of doing things differently. I thought the writing style in the first half or so of the book was short and sweet and and the diversity of its succinct chapters fit together well. Then, somewhere along the way (probably around Invisible Cities or London Calling - chapters named for a book and an album that I, and presumably HUO, love dearly), it's like the book slid into a lazy, art jargon-filled accounting of the greatest hits of HUO's exhibitions and superficial descriptions of some of the pieces created by the super famous artists he's worked with. This section of the book could probably have been summed up as: 'yeah, so, I'm really into dematerializing the object and working across disciplines'. I feel like maybe this part would have held together better if HUO had just focused thematically and illustrated with examples instead of writing the same chapters over and over again with different exhibitions.

Then, there's the part where this book didn't sit easy with me because of my own issues. The biggest being that, even though I love art and work with a bunch of artists as part of my job (which I totally love), I find the art world all too often an insular game played by rich people to entertain themselves. And this book really reinforced some of my darker suspicions. I got tired of reading about how HUO showed the same artists over and over again (and so, so many of them were white and male and from wealthy parts of the world), and some of the latter chapters on his cross disciplinary collaborations made me want to ask, 'so you got a bunch of eminent scientists to a party in a remote location with a bunch of eminent artists and ... and ... what happened? what was the point?!' Maybe I've just become too focused on actually doing things in my old age ... As I said, it's not you, it's me. Oh yeah, and another thing, how awesome would this book have been with images? (I know there's intellectual property and all those other issues that often make that prohibitive, but ... surely if you've shown someone's work like three dozen times, they might lend you a photo or something?) Finally, who the hell is co-author Asad Raza? If you've written like 10 books or whatever it is, surely you can find time to write your own memoir?

So, yes, it's interesting and thought provoking but also seemed a bit sloppy and thrown together cause his agent's breathing down his neck to produce that book. That, and the art world. Apologies if I've offended you.

[Mairita (Marii grāmatplaukts) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Negaidīti interesantas mākslas esejas par specifisku tēmu - izstāžu kūrēšanu. Līdz šim par izstādēm domāju no apmeklētāja skatu punkta un gandrīz visas redzētās izstādes iekārtojuma aspekta ziņā bijušas garlaicīgas, parastas. Tagad man jādomā par kuratora darbu. Obrists savās esejās paver citu ainu - izstādes var būt daudz vairāk, tās var būt par idejām, tās var būt starpdisciplināras un notikt visur. Pieļauju, ka lasīšanas vieglumu nodrošināja arī labais Viļa Kasima tulkojums.

[Gylfi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almennt er ég ekki hrifinn af því að gefa lágar einkunnir; ef ég naut ekki bókarinnar kann vel að vera að hún sé ekki stíluð á mig eða að ég hafi ekki staðið mig sem lesandi og óþarfi að láta það bitna á höfundi bókarinnar. Sumir myndu segja þetta óþarfa aumingjagæsku og það er kannski rétt. Í þetta sinn gef ég tvær stjörnur en er ekki alveg klár hverjum ég er að gefa falleinkunn, bókinni eða mér. Hún fær eina stjörnu af því mér fannst hún smá skemmtileg um tíma og aðra af því ég nennti ekki að gefa henni annan séns. Mér fannst hún leiðinleg, óáhugaverð og óskiljanleg. Þetta segir kannski meira um mig en bókina en þetta var bara endalaus nafnalisti listamanna sem hann hefur starfað með (og ég aldrei heyrt minnst á) og þeirra oftast nær ómerkilega samstarf. Það var stundum áhugavert að lesa um mótunarár höfundar en ekki nógu. Það er óréttlátt að dæma bók fyrir að vera ekki það sem þú vildir að hún væri en í þetta sinn er mér sama; ég hélt að þetta væri bók um eitthvað áhugavert sem gerist á söfnum/stúdíoum en svo er þetta aðallega eitthvað á borð við það þegar vinir höfundar komu heim til hans og gerðu eldhúsið hans að listaverki með því að kom fyrir styttu inní ísskáp og stórum núðlupakka uppá skáp. Þessi bók fór í taugarnar á mér, bæði fyrir að vera asnaleg en þó helst fyrir það hve asnaleg mér fannst hún.

[Alex McGaughrin Cross · Rating 3 out of 5]

so much respect for Obrist’s work but the first time he mentioned a woman even slightly was about 80 pages into this. enjoyed the start, but began to feel like just a long list of names by the end, with lots of repetition of the same ideas and not much exploration into them

[Tõnis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Olbrist on vist kõige tunnustatum tänapäeva kuraator ja kureerimisest kirjutaja. Ways of Curating ei esita kuraatorluse teooriat, vaid Olbrist annab pika ülevaate paljudest oma projektidest. Nende põhjal koorub ka välja, mis see kureerimine tema jaoks on. Iseendast ei kirjuta Olbrist peaaegu mitte midagi, vähemalt mitte midagi isiklikku. Tekstist tuleb üksnes välja, et tema huvi kaasaegse kunsti vastu tekkis hämmastavalt vara. Ta käis juba 14-aastaselt ülidiipidel näitustel; kui 17-aastaselt tema klass Pariisi ekskursioonile läks, kasutas Olbrist võimalust külastada Pariisis Christian Boltanskit, kes on üks tunnustatumaid kaasaegseid kunstnikke jne. Suures osas näibki Olbristi tegevus seisnevat meeletult paljude kunstnike ja muude valdkondade intellektuaalidega (sealhulgas kõige kuulsamatega) süstemaatilises suhtlemises, ideede vahetamises ja salvestamises. Kunsti puhul huvitavadki teda ideed, kontseptsioonid, uued viisid maailma mõtestamiseks. Ways of Curating näitab, et kureerimine võib olla palju muud peale piltide väljavalimise ja seinale riputamise – viimasega ei tegele Olbrist raamatu põhjal otsustades üldse. Olbristi näitusetegemine on äärmiselt eksperimentaalne, ta arvab, et igaks näituseks tuleb näitusetegemine uuesti leiutada. Sageli ongi tema "näitused" eri laadi ootamatute sündmuste, kohtumise, diskussioonide jms genereerimine.
Kuna ma ise olen suhtlemises naeruväärselt nõrk ning diipide ideede suhtes ükskõikne, jäi see raamat mulle paratamatult kaugeks. Samal moel on mulle võõraks jäänud kaasaegne kunst üldiselt. Asjad, mis mind kunsti puhul võluvad – ilu, rõõm, meisterlikkus, seletamatud tunded, inimlikud kogemused, millega ma saan emotsionaalselt suhestuda -, ei mängi Olbristi jaoks mingit rolli. Samas tunnistan, et see on intelligentne raamat, lihtsalt mitte minu jaoks. Kindlasti on see hea raamat kaasaegsest kunstist ja kureerimisest huvitatud spetsialistidele/üliõpilastele.

[Joakim Züger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Half biography of Obrists lifelong oeuvre, half history of the exhibition as we know it today, the book is seemingly reaching towards Richard Feynman-esque levels of inquiry into all things, it’s author drawing experience from things as seemingly disparate as 13th century alchemists and modern scholars of economic theory in his practice.

In this regard, Obrist puts forward not only a splendid view of curatorial practice at large - describing how the essence of any curators work should be in the collection and assembly of ideas on the artists term, serving as a kind of conceptual midwife to the realization of the artists ambitions - but also answers the aforementioned question he himself had put forth. What curating can help us do is, according to Obrist, to make sure that our museums and galleries do not become what his mentor Suzanne Pagé called “cemeteries of culture” but rather laboratories of forms and expression, wherein combinations of ideas that seem odd at first glance can become fruitful ventures into the future of art.


This book is for you if:

You always wondered what a curator actually does
You have an interest in the making of exhibitions

This book might not be for you if:

You have trouble remembering names (spoiler: there are a lot)
You’re looking for a cookie cutter how-to guide for curating

[Noah Nixon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Not worth reading, which is a disappointment because the beginning chapters about the history of curating really grabbed me. For example, on the topic or Wunderkammer or cabinet of wonders eclectic, esoteric collections of the rich... “Even if we have, today, split apart the scientific from the artistic, the Wunderkammer reminds us that the two are both essentially forms of taking pleasure in the task of understanding the world, provoked by a stimulating object or idea” (p42).

Obrist has some insightful gems littered throughout the first half but when he talks about exhibitions he has curated, I feel like dying. Are his exhibitions as boring as his descriptions of them? Art jargon make this comparable to an Art Forum way of thinking about art.

[Lyuba🐯 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The author is one of the most interesting curators of our time. He tells stories from his exhibitions and introduces his influences and muses.

If you want to read more about his groundbreaking ways, such as curating an exhibition in his own kitchen...organizing a symposium with artists and scientists that consists only of the coffee breaks that traditional symposiums have... or giving artists time to exhibit their art rather than space... well then this is the book for you 🖤

[Scott Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and accessible read highlighting some of the most memorable experiences of Hans Ulrich Obrist. Of particular interest where the chapters 'Collecting Knowledge' and 'Of Libraries and Archives'. Ways of Curating offers a broad overview of curating as a practice and as a personal way of life for the author.

[Conor McQuillan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this one up in a museum's gift shop bc I liked the idea of reading someone's experience curating exhibits and such. Sadly I couldn't engage with the author's storytelling, but I took at least one good lesson out of it - curating art for yourself is a fun way to connect with it.

Fun to read with a 15 mins morning coffee break.

[Tosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The skill of curating is really putting two or more ideas together and placing it in a space. Beyond that it can mean anything. Generally speaking when we hear the word "curate" that means someone with a point-of-view, or subjective thoughts puts something together so we can explore that curator's thinking or world. Well, at least, in theory. Without a doubt one of the more interesting curators in contemporary art is Hans Ulrich Obrist. I have never seen any of his exhibitions, but I do know him through his books and essays. His best skill is that he has a basic curiosity in how an artist works and thinks. He is also interested in places, cities, and locations where one can exhibit ideas or more likely art. The curator is often just as creative as the artist. Which is sometimes a good thing, and often not that good of a thing.

Basically an artist makes a work, and if they are lucky it goes out to the world. In a lot of cases, there is usually someone who takes that work and places it in a room with another work of art. It can be a random act, but more likely the person (the curator) who does that is looking for themes or a feeling between the artworks. At times, I find this misleading to the artist's intent, and on occurrences, it brings up new light or a way of looking at that art. Especially if you know the artist and their work. So, in a sense, the curator is sort of like a film editor working with a filmmaker.

The great thing about Obrist is his interest in contemporary art and its past. He also knows that literature, architecture and personality is also part of the big picture - in other words, everything has a place or importance, and therefore so does art. The tricky aspect is how and when one place that work in a bigger picture or landscape. "Ways of Curating" is very much Obrist's thinking in these matters as well as the history of curating, which is fascinating. Modern curating (at least to Obrist) started in the 19th century in Paris. At one time, paintings were hung salon style which is a lot of work on one wall. Monet and others started a practice where a painting stands by itself on a large wall, and therefore one concentrates on that one piece. Salon style exhibition is fascinating, but for me, it's hard for me to focus on individual works, yet people in the 19th century used to see art in this fashion.

"Ways of Curating" reads not like a book, but more of a collection of essays on the subject matter of curating. For me, it would have been more fascinating if he just focused on its history, like he did in the first part of the book. The second part is basically his career and what he has done, which is perfectly fine, but the writing gets kind of 'been there and done that' type of feeling.

Nevertheless, this is a very accessible book to someone who is curious about that world, but really doesn't know too much about the nature of art exhibitions, and how they are planned out.. Orbits has many books out, and the best one's are his interview books with various contemporary artists and composers. He is an interesting guy, and "Ways of Curating" is both good and so-so, but still important of a subject matter to read.

[Jasmine Liu · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the best-known facts about H.U.O. is that for some time, he subscribed to a reduced-yet-still-insane version of Balzac’s 50-or-whatever cups of coffee a day, and subjected himself to the da Vinci method (15 minutes of sleep every three hours). And for good reason: it’s not only hard to believe that a human being can have that much sheer energy, it’s also pretty hard to believe that a person can enjoy conscious life that much. “Ways of Curating” collates mini-essays on some of the projects that have defined Obrist’s career, and curiously, reminded me of Brian Eno/Peter Schmidt’s “Oblique Strategies”—it could productively be read one short essay a time at the top of one’s day to jog one’s creativity. Obrist’s interlocutors comment on how infectious his metabolism is, and we get a sense of that here. Reading about his conference-with-no-official-conference-events, kitchen museum, marathon interview event, and archive of unrealized ideas expanded my sense of possibility around what could be brought about with effort. Obrist’s curatorial career is a testament to the fact that being clever and having a structural critique are not mutually exclusive (come to think of it, this is what much of conceptual art accomplishes); a needed reminder for a critic, certainly.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

ummmm, i liked a few things in here but disliked when he just started talking about his own projects, which was most of the book. He really makes it sound like he’s piggybacking off the success of other artists. I think if a curator puts together a nice show whether it’s one artist or a few, it doesn’t have to be groundbreaking; Obrist wanted every show he did to be a piece of art in itself, which is fine i guess but I feel like it’s just using these artists for your own benefit and at the same time taking away from each of their greatness. Idk, this book just didn’t sit well with me. I would treat this book as ways not to work and ways not to talk about art.

[George Millership · Rating 2 out of 5]

A light, verging on shallow, skip over Hans Ulrich Obrist's CV. Interesting, but far too short, discussions of philosophers and curators which have influenced his practice, and has encouraged me to research those I've not come across before in more depth.

Very, very little meaty discussion on how curating works, how exhibitions are formed, how their meanings are created, or, crucially, the politics of them. E.g: Obrist characterises the great exhibition of 1851, which was conceptually framed by Britain's colonial trade, as being 'multicultural'.

Negligible writing on archival studies, nothing on feminist curating, very flimsy on postcolonial curating.

In short, very little on why curating is important, and barely anything on why it's exciting, besides a few vague suggestions of things being 'in conversation'.

Some of the exhibitions in this book sound very engaging; it's a shame the book reads as a cultivation of the social and cultural capital of one man.

[Rajiv Chopra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite like this book, as it did open my eyes to the fact that the curating world is a fairly multi-layered world, and it goes way beyond just hanging pictures on a wall.

What I like is the rather simple manner in which he writes, and this kept me somewhat engaged throughout. There is a lot of name-dropping, and this does spoil the book somewhat.

Also, when he uses terms like 'the greatest artist' etc, I cannot help but think that he, like many Western writers, cannot see beyond the Western / Northern Quarter of the world. Latin America, Asia, Australia are beyond their vision.

I would have liked some photographs. This would have helped to illustrate the points he was wanting to make.

Apart from these, for me, a good book.

[Christin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pleasure of finding junctions between different facets of art, science, culture, economics, and daily life is palpable from Curator Hans Ulrich Obrist's tone, which makes him a poet of spaces. Openness and curiosity, conversation and questions both permeate his practice and have led him to a surprising and unconventional approach to his celebrated career. I found the ideas in this book inspiring and directly applicable to my work as an interdisciplinary artist often skirting the line of installation and language-based pieces into the realm of curation.

[Giulia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much name-dropping

[Hue Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

quite an informative book for a person who is new to curating. the evolution of "curating" from a care-taking function to an enterprise that is embedded in our ways of life is captivating. i speak, i curate. i write, i curate. i hold exhibitions, i curate.

there are different ways of curating arts in different settings that is not confined to putting "objects" in "exhibitions", especially in the contemporary dynamic world. curating does not give meaning to art but expands and transcends it through conversations with artists. curating does not merely display art in a white cube, but oscillates in a sphere of in-betweenness, of non-materials, of movement and stillness, of time and space. curating provokes questions rather than find answers.

[Riley C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great theoretical basis for curatorial theory if you don’t mind learning by watching and its occasional tendency to be auto-biographical.

Obrist is known for being a renegade and at times difficult. That comes across. I learned a lot from reading what felt at times like a concise history of his career and felt much inspiration to do things the same and different. A good read for anyone with an interest in curatorship, but not necessarily - as the title goes a way to suggest - a how-to guide.

[Jip · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 sterren

heel interessant voor iedereen die interesse heeft in cureren!! moet wel toegeven dat het (vooral vanaf de tweede helft van het boek) heeel veel name dropping is en zelfs ik als kunstgeschiedenis student kende een groot deel van de genoemde mensen niet, dus dat maakt het soms wat moeilijk om te begrijpen. los daarvan wel erg boeiend en hans is volgens mij gewoon echt een lief en leuk mannetje.

[Claudia Lepik · Rating 5 out of 5]

nii hea ja tore. palju uusi avastatud kunstnikke, inspireeriv lähenemine raamatu autori poolt ning projektid millest ma varem kuulnud olin, ta kergelt käis need üle ning tekitas huvi taas. meeldejäävad momendid: mis muuseum oli kunagi, mis on olnud kuraatori tähendus läbi aegade ning issand, kui paljude kunstnikega ta oma elu jooksul rääkinud on.

S O O V I T A N

[Venerdi Handoyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book full of ideas that will transform our ways of thinking about arts, exhibitions, and curating. Hans Ulrich Obrist generously shares how he connects artists, thinkers and scientists from different disciplinary, creates a medium for their collaborative works, and sparks waves of changes in our mindset one ripple at a time with each exhibition - despite the sizes - that he curates.

[S M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t bring myself to finish, the book starts off wonderful with the history of curating and what it means to do so, but quickly devolves into some sort of art world jerk off of name dropping and vacuous descriptions of the art shows. Stopped reading after I began using the book as a sleep aid. (And as others mention, the lack of diversity in artists mentioned and worked with is deplorable.)

[angelinakahlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first half of the book, as it gives a great overview over the the history of curation, in addition advise by artists and curators are included!
The second half of the book feels rather rushed (which is okay considering how short it is), but it ruined the overall pleasant experience I had with it in the first place!
However, it is a great little collection of exibitions and curators one should know (one point off, as it is very eurocentric, but I am assuming that is because the author mainly worked within Europe!)

[Scott Wessman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at the practical approaches to curating art exhibitions. For art enthusiasts the various names and exhibitions would probably have been fascinating, but to a novice like me it was kind of overwhelming.

[Olga Kuplivanchuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great almanac to open the world of art and curating. I advice this book to everyone who wants to make a list of artists and books to explore the topic of Art.

[Girbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was nice

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting use of memoir to talk about the history of curation and art museums. Learnt a lot about the history as a whole as well as about Obrist.

[m. · Rating 4 out of 5]

phenomenal. first half definitely stronger and more charming but i still want to burrow in huo's brain and live there.