The problem with assuming every conversation must conclude with a proposed solution is that this impulse often leads to false assumptions of having actually accomplished something. Sometimes conversations need to take the course they need to take, and solutions should not be artificially rushed. The best solutions come from real understanding, and that most often takes time. I was entirely into Ben Davis opinion on the Yam Collective and Joe Scanlan controversy. It even began to help me better understand why Yam would choose to withdraw rather than let their work speak for itself (although Im still shy of being convinced its not a mistake), but mostly I particularly enjoyed Bens call for this issue to spark an actual conversation. If I were the Whitney Museum, instead of taking the present incident as something to be perception-managed out of existence, I would take it as an opportunity to rethink how its signature event might actually be more vital. The mainstream commercially driven art market does not naturally generate diversity, because commercial pressures tend to amplify existing advantages and disadvantages: It’s all about whom you know, and whether or not you sell. But that’s exactly where a supposedly non-commercial institution like the Whitney, and a supposedly scholarly initiative like the Biennial, should be relevant. Instead of representing the best of the official scene, it should aspire specifically to represent the best of what doesn’t get represented within that scene. Diversity wouldn’t be an ass-covering afterthought in such a show, but something welded into its fabric in a “deep and embedded” way. All of this was great, and a really good start to an actual conversation. But then the urge to tie a bow around it must have taken over, and he ends with Maybe the Yams Collective could curate the next Whitney Biennial. Groan. Too simplistic. Do the Yams have experience curating survey exhibitions? Are they familiar enough with art beyond their own to truly assemble the best of what doesn’t get represented within that scene? Perhaps they are, but if theyre not, this solution would be nothing more than a PR stunt. The goal is a good one. The conversation is essential. This particular proposal, though, seems too likely to be a throwaway idea. Rather than assume the conversation must lead to an immediate solution, why not continue it until more thoughtful, obvious solutions emerge? Theres two years until the next Whitney Biennial.
Posted on: Fri, 16 May 2014 14:52:43 +0000
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