There are two sides to every coin. In tandem with the cult of the individual artist discussed in the previous issue, art collectives have also flourished. Much of today's cooperatively produced art evolved from the socially inspired art of the 1990s, made famous by the concept of relational aesthetics. What does today's art have in common with the art of then, and how does it differ?
The manner in which he interweaves art and life is as unique as it is exemplary. You could call it relational aesthetics avant la lettre. Yet it was not the generation of Rirkrit Tiravanija and Liam Gillick who rediscovered the work of this artist who was already active in the late Sixties. It is the young artists of today who see Marc Camille Chaimowicz as an important predecessor, a recognition that is being translated into a growing number of presentations in Europe and soon in Amsterdam too.
The emergence of the academy in the exhibition circuit is connected with the popularity of ‘relational aesthetics’. Pursuing contact may well have led to a lot of talk in the exhibition circuit, but a genuinely critical dialogue has been lacking until now. It’s more a question of talking for talking’s sake. According to Robert Garnett, ‘the exhibition as academy’ is weighed down by a threatening academicism. It’s time to disrupt the prevailing relationships.
Quality encounters: this is how we could describe the art of Dora García (1965). In an intriguing manner, she connects relational aesthetics with an institutional critique of art and society. Her work has a militant, feminist undertone, but happily not at the expense of subtlety or uncertainty.
