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3 Feb 2009

Bourriaud as curator of Tate Britain Triennial

Jonathan Jones has written an interesting piece about Altermodern (defined as post-post-modernism) at Tate Britain, a triennial of British art curated by Bourriaud. It will be interesting to see how far the exhibition is able to avoid the illustration of theory, as many of the selected artists cite Relational Aesthetics as a fundamental influence upon the nature of their practice. The concept of heterogeneity might dominate both theory and practice (if they are to be considered separate) to such an extent that it appears homogeneous. There is also the idea of the star guest curator, which is also discussed in this month's Museums Journal.

Here's the link for the article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/feb/03/tate-britain-triennial

4 comments:

  1. Here's a link to pictures of the exhibition:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2009/feb/03/tate-triennial?picture=342673374

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  2. that's great Rebecca....have you seen that 'The Attic', (Leicester Museum Studies Blog)- there's a link in 'our favourite links' from our blog - are also talking about Altermodern......
    mark

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  3. It does seem like bait, I imagine it will generate quite a bit of discussion. It's quite a provocative gesture disguised as a cuddly inclusive concept, although it's heartening to witness someone putting their practice where their theory is. I suppose one question is semiotic, is 'alter' from the German for 'older'? If it's a strategy for negating the modern/post-modern debates it may collapse under the persistence of defining stylistic periods, I'm thinking of Saatchi's 'Neurotic Realism' episode. It certainly throws up a rich and varied set of questions.

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  4. Hi Rebecca,
    I think, though I'm not sure, that the German root to 'Alter' is 'age'?..but you're absolutely right to point up the relationship here...great to see the blog getting off to such a good start...!
    mark

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