Catching up: Final days of the first semester

Wow, it’s been a while. I’m sorry about that. It’s the end of the semester (one week left), so I’ve been-mega swamped. The majority of the craziness ensued last week, which went really well, with the exception of two disappointments not related to school: Phil Collins did not win the Turner prize (but congrats to Tomma Abts), and my bike was stolen last night. Let me just ask, completely in earnest: Who steals someone’s bicycle? That’s just mean.

OK, it’s better if I just jump off that train before it really gets going. So “finals”, in my program, consists of papers, presentations and conversations. I think I did well, if I do say so, and most of the end-of-semester assignments were good opportunities for reflection upon the semester, my thinking and my concerns. Among my concerns is the very general problem of most people seeing a show and then forgetting about it when they leave a gallery or museum. How do we make curatorial projects more lasting? For example, I’ve been thinking that someone should set up a legal consulting firm for artists to advise them about intellectual property rights and copyright issues. (I don’t think I’m the right person to do this, but it would be cool.) But in terms of exhibitions themselves, I’ve been thinking about models that extend and expand the geography of a show (like connection different locations, exhibition-as-compass) and the duration. Heather Johnson’s “Cracks in the Pavement” project is a great example. Check out: www.cracksinthepavement.com

Anyway, my next post will include assessments of the Detroit trip and research project. Stay tuned.