A Short Nightmare of Curating
A Short Nightmare of Curating Dreamer: Victor Frankenstein
YENYI LEE MFA VISUAL CULTURE EDINBURGH COLLEGE OF ART/ UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH Professor: Neil Mulholland Angela McClanahan
Introduction
My intention is to create an analogical allegory between Frankenstein and practitioners in the contemporary art world. After observing numerous interviews from contemporary artists and curators, I learned some fascinating but also troublesome facts from revisiting their objectives, the social structures that they are involved in, as well as the current development policy from government and the global biennale scene. All these facts put together appear to me to have a high potential of leading to a disastrous end. Therefore, in this novella, I would like to try to depict the relationship between contemporary curators, artists and the mass re-
The Short Nightmare about Curating
action according to the research I have done to show the possible ending and reaction of the current situation. I see the curator’s role function as Dr. Frankenstein who collages the works together during the exhibition making process, imposing meanings and narrations onto the artworks to give them a power to speak out. Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelly’s novel was fascinated by the human anatomy and medical dissections of the brain and body, which implies that personality and emotions, even faith and believe, could be analysed as physical phenomena, propelled by knowledge, he become “capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter” gathering materials from “the dissecting room and the slaughter-house” and piecing together a human body. My question lies whether or not the viewers’ reaction and the response artwork become predictable in this context. Based on the research articles on curatorial approaches, I noticed a reoccurring proposal in these articles that reminds future curators should keeps their minds open, play strategically according to time and space, and also keep their minds open to not only new artists but also to different aspects that aren’t considered appropriate to the art world (Ex: economy). I couldn’t help wonder how much self-reflectivity the curators can inspire in us. Further more, if our narrative is being constructed through the narration of exhibition design, then how can we say that we are reflective when these realisations are pre-designed, filtered information?
The artists, who have been physically, mentally, and spiritually involved in their works, might be frustrated because the works are recognised merely as parts of the exhibition and public reaction. These facts could lead to negative relationships, competitive attitudes or even by achieving greater fame and attention in order to gain a more dominating power for their own autonomy. Based on these observations and reasonings, I imagine that the artist could walk The Short Nightmare about Curating
the same path as Frankenstein’s monster. The monster who was born naïve with good natured but developed a twisted behaviour from false representation or wrong context which lead to a no win situation in which, similarly, artists can be frustrated by curatorial decision, constant compromising with other artwork or institutions, or by the market. The negative outcome, misinterpretation of the artwork, frustration and despair from the artists lead to an irretrievable disaster that might later be undesirably perceived by the masses.
Positioning this allegory in today’s art world, where creative industry is a means for the government to promote a new economic policy, as well as with the economic value of cultural industry growing with the support of social media, life has became more aesthetic by the rising of the self, people who consume products and accept the implication behind the product in order to construct their identities. Artwork as commodity in such conditions not only represents the artist’s own aesthetic products, but also functions as a medium that communicates its symbolism to the exhibition viewers. However, it might result in misunderstanding the artworks’ original will once it was posited in an environment or narration that intended to direct viewers’ perspective, and which could be a trigger of artists’ negative reaction. Taking the market value and the biennale culture, public attention into consideration, also imagine how the personal value, emotion and decision could result negative outcome and later being amplified by media.
The Mass Media/ Town People Once the mass media perceived the wrong imageries under circumstances that weren’t clear, rumours occurred when it caught the public’s attention. Later, through the milling procThe Short Nightmare about Curating
ess, which amplified the damages even more, constructing a possible threat that causes damage to the public by labelling a group with the identical culture, age group, fashion, behaviour, and geographical locations as ‘folk devil’. Once the ‘folk devil’ was successfully labelled, by generating concerns and hostility towards the actors, spreading a wide agreements, exaggerating possible threats by reinforcing the initial rumour might end with the eruption of moral panic. The moral panic towards the artwork could be transferred onto the artists themselves, and spread to the institutions, and even to the art industry. An example of this would be the idea of public art as wasting taxpayers’ money.
Based on the moral panic effect, the ‘control angel’ (i.e. the police or government) was asked to react to the situation by applying situational logic to enforcement. If we take this effect into consideration, it might limit the art development in public areas, or it will polarize the economical and social situation in the contemporary art world. The situation remains unpredictable, however; it raises doubts and questions about today’s curators, artists, art industry workers’ positions and their intention. It also suggests to reexamine the necessity of creating meaning, producing symbols for art activities, and making art functional.
This novella/allegory itself is my personal practice in fictional writing. Frankenstein seems to me to be a perfect fictional figure to fit into the situation that I am trying to discuss here. Frankenstein’s monster has been transforming, being talked about, be applied to different subjects and stories, not to mention the developed side stories that other writers create. Frankenstein the man is both hero and villain, applauded for his courage and genius at the same time that he is punished for his pride and transgression. His monster is to be both feared and pitied. I hope that by describing this well-known, double-sided monster figure, I The Short Nightmare about Curating
can help readers to develop the impression on the contemporary art context. In the text, I collaged some dialogues that took place in reality between curators and artists during their interviews to construct my main characters. The fiction itself is a hybrid based on my own writing, research and the some dialogues that I took from real interviews, novels and current affairs. I wish to reflect the phenomenon and by questioning both the relationship between curator’s authorship, artist psychology development and social reaction in the art world, also discuss the paradoxes of freedom and control, fear and courage, right and wrong.
The Short Nightmare about Curating
The Short Nightmare about Curating
‘The best writing appears like those animals, sudden, self-possessed, telling everything and nothing, words approaching wordlessness. Maybe writing is its own desert, its own wilderness.’ – Robecca Solinit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost
It is only midday but already Victor feels ready to go home. A bi-sexual young man, Victor would never allow himself go out on the street without polishing his shoes, carefully selecting accessories that match his outfit, he appears to be an androgynous figure, uncanny but charming, handsome but lingering between the line just enough for girls to start to wonder if they might possibly be in the wrong bush. Blonde with clear blue eyes, a beautiful, well-mannered recent graduate, Victor does not just satisfy with just his appearance. Fluent in six languages, with full-time museum jobs in Vienna and Paris behind him, he is also bombarded with invitations to seminars and symposia, to discuss his trendy ideas about curating and the future of exhibiting. He appears to be an antithesis of the stereotypical, dusty-oldrelic curator who never leaves his museum. Victor is of a new, go-getting breed of übercurator. Coming from a middle-class family, his father is banker and mother is a teacher in elementary school; Victor had an ordinary childhood growing up in a middle class neighbourThe Short Nightmare about Curating
hood, playing with the children of other teachers from his mother’s school. A normal neighbour kid but who is also beautiful and smart.
The first time Victor discovered his sexual attraction towards men was with Mr. Anderson. It wasn’t because Mr. Anderson was a boring teacher. Rather, he was the most charming person that Victor had ever been with. He was one of the art teachers at school but unlike other teachers was young, liberating, passionate, and open-minded. There was something very different about him that made Victor feel irresistibly drawn to him. It was hard for a teenage young man to admit male attraction while also in love with his girlfriend at the same time. He was afraid, for the first time, fear for this attraction to something not naturally conceived within his community, his peers, nor of any literary materials that he had read or written on such subjects. Mr. Anderson was also a photographer, and given his attraction for him, Victor would deliberately stay late after school to discuss photographical works and art history, interests shared also by Mr. Anderson. One invitation as a photography model for Mr. Anderson caused Victor’s adventure to another realm: a realm where the power was constantly changing, being gazed at or being treasured with a desire of pushing himself to the very edge for whatever reason. A realm that has hardly any rules to follow, is indescribable but most of all, achieving something that is sublime and beautiful. Later Victor found himself in love with this transcendent energy that artwork, artists, and the atmosphere that existed because of Mr. Anderson.
A month later after the photo shoot, Mr. Anderson was discharged from school. Everybody thought it was because Mr. Anderson was going to start a new photography project abroad, but only Victor knew the truth that Mr. Anderson was letting go. It was an ordinary The Short Nightmare about Curating
neighbourhood, a place where people needed to be sure that they had a lovely life and clean bed sheets, a place that only allowed monogamy and heterosexual relationships. At age 17, Victor knew he had to leave for somewhere where people were brave enough to push their boundaries, somewhere where the rules would be constantly changing, experiments being carried out and controversial being addressed. Somewhere that is not just useful or good and bad but opens up to anther dimension.
Going through art education until the age of nineteen, Victor wanted to be a painter, but after having seen a Fernand Leger exhibition that impressed him so much he said to himself, “I will never get that good.� Victor then enrolled in a curatorial course at the university and nine years later he took over the contemporary art centre in the city.
Now, he sits in the bar, it's only ten past one, but in Dubai, nothing will say no to you as long as you have some cash and a nice pair of shoes. Victor is trying to think of the first time he started to work for an institution, the Contemporary art centre interviewed him when he was twenty-seven. He had some work experience and a few self run projects, but the job offer opened a whole new world for him. Contemporary art centre had a rather venerable past so Victor decided that he had to change its direction. They didn't have a permanent collection; it was more like a laboratory than a collective memorial. Victor took a chance to improvise, to do the maximum with minimal resources and still be good enough that other institutions would want to take on the exhibition and share the costs.
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This Contemporary art centre later become the most exciting spot in the city, at an unbelievable pace -an exhibition opening every month- Victor introduced a baffled local audience to the newest generation of international artists, many of whom received their earliest opportunities from the young director. A one-person business with a team of devoted collaborators taking care of exhibition architecture, transportation, insurance problems, bookkeeping, and all other practical matters. Victor’s agency had no objective other than communicating his vision of a radically different zone of energy, passion and intensity.
A job offer by the Dubai Biennale committee asked Victor to be the first curator of the Dubai Biennale. Following the Art Dubai, a leading international art fair that just finished its sixth edition in 2012, there was much discussion about the needs to heighten Dubai’s profile in contemporary art. The nascent art scene developing throughout the UAE and the effects of a vertical urbanisation that every citizen has to answer day in and day out constituted the rapid transformation of the nation. Having also learnt from the experience of the Venice Biennale, hoping to establish this biennale in Dubai by negotiating between national and international cultural identities and global trends, the economy would become successful and politically relevant. The objective of the Dubai biennale was also sent along with the job offer letter. Victor can still vividly recall the thrill of receiving the letter.
The Short Nightmare about Curating
Interview Dubai Daily asks: “What is your opinion on curating?”
“Curators need to be experts in representation, and in many instances they’re not. It’s a valuable tradition; a huge history that stands behind exhibition making and it is surrounded by a bizarre ignorance. But this is leading to more self-organization between artists—an exciting by-product.” “I could have used the term ‘curator’ to make it clear that I chose the exhibited artists” Victor explains, “However, to me, curating is much more than that. It’s an in depth praxis: writing, reading texts, thinking, going to countless exhibitions, meeting with artists. Curators should be knee-deep in discourse.” “Everything already exists. Everything has been done, twice. Everything is referenced. Everything is processed and then processed again, and there’s also the original. There is every medium, every boundary has already been crossed and so on and so on. Precisely because of this proliferation is the situating of art works so important—really seeing that when things are situated together they have different meanings.”
“You just said that everything has been done because of the proliferation of art works… how do you react to this?” “To keep art stimulating, it's important to open it up to new horizons, which includes showing it in unexpected contexts,' Victor says, decrying the normal museum-going experience as 'like being on a piste-skiing: go left, go right… It's too linear, too homogeneous.”
The Short Nightmare about Curating
The next meeting starts in an hour. It takes forty minutes to drive from this bar to the biennale office, and not to mention the angry crowds that will be in the way. ‘What have I done wrong?’ Victor asks himself. He puts down the glass on the bar, where there is only one bartender and Victor walks to the door where two men in military suit guarding it.
“Today is really hot.” Victor says as he walks out of the shades, but nobody seems to care to answer.
The Short Nightmare about Curating
A IS ATTENTION
THE REVOLUTION OF THE RUMOUR
GENERATION IN THE CENTURY OF SELF
MANUFACTURE EXCITEMENT
A PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION IN WHICH
INDIVIDUALS TRY TO RESTRUCTURE AN AMBIGUOUS SITUATION
BY SEEKING CUES IN THE REACTION OF OTHERS
VERY SENSITISED INDIVIDUAL
COMMON EMOTIONAL TONE DEVELOPMENT
CO-OPERATIVE IMPROVISATION
COLLECTIVE EXCITEMENT
The Short Nightmare about Curating
Two years ago…
Emily finishes her personal statement, now in front of her MACBOOK, smoking her Japanese mint cigarette on her bed, debates with herself whether or not she should go to Marty’s gig tonight. Even though she knows how much work she has to do tomorrow, she looks on the bright side and realises that she will meet a lot of people there as well. Marty is the tenth DJ she has ever dated since she moved into the city about two months ago. It sounds like a lot, but if you compare her to her other friends, she is at least still able to call it a date. It’s not like she’s sleeping with a guy on the first night. That is the only routine she kept perfectly. She built a lot of rules for herself, such as only allowing herself two cigarettes a day, or only going out on weekends, but with the exception of... lots of exceptions. The fact is, she smokes a pack a day, sometimes one and a half, all the parties were really awesome, so she had to go, one excuse that she gave herself was telling herself that she will make some good connections and can always wake up early and do more work. However, by the time she gets up the next day, it is always too late or she is too hung-over to make her website or to write her CV. It has been nearly two years since she has graduated from art college, and she has done two internships and one artists’ residency. Her internships were in two different film studios, and the artists’ residency was in a tiny country in Asia. Having been an art major, the longest job she ever had was in a coffee shop, making macchiatos with too much milk and too much sugar, never being able to understand what the difference is between a flat white and a cappuccino. She is not too pessimistic because she knows that it does not help but only makes
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the situation worse, so she has hopes, hopes for tomorrow, hopes that some important people might want to look at her work…yes, she has a lot of hopes. After replying to some texts from friends, she gets up, puts on red CHANEL lipstick, which cost her about 5 hours of making coffee, put on her over-sized coat and grabbed her new bag she got from a vintage store last Friday.
Closes her laptop. The music stops.
Checks that she has her keys, mobile, debit card, and her ID.
Turns off the lights.
Shuts the door, WHAM!
Something sounds a little different from the usual when Emily closes her door. Emily assumes the slam sounded different simply because she used less power than she usually would, and never thought about what that might mean. In fact, Emily has never once paid attention to her door, other than when coming home without her keys, and then she would curse the door. And honestly, it drives her door crazy. The door has been quite irritated by Emily’s behaviour, slamming it rather than closing it gently and also by how she projects her anger onto the door when it was obviously her fault for not taking her keys with her. She also obviously doesn’t care about how much it hurts to hit the wall every time and has no control over it. Also every night when she came back drunk, the rude entry from her key to the keyhole drove the door crazy. It is obscene to be The Short Nightmare about Curating
woken in the middle of the night and after being intruded its very essential part, followed by another slam. And on this particular evening, as Emily turned the knob, the door decided that it would be the last time that she would treat it with such a horrendous attitude. The door let go of its lock, and this time when it hit the wall, it didn’t close but bounced open again. So Emily’s door thrust her onto the mercy of the immitigable path of fate. For as she walked out from her tiny flat, little did Emily know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act would ultimately result in her _____________. Marty is already on the stage (((( SCRATCHING THE TRACKS )))) when Emily arrives at the club. When she tells the bouncer that she is on the guest list, a guy speaks… “You are friends with Marty?” “Yeah, and you?” “Yes! I’m Victor by the way. You are here alone?” after shortly introducing themselves to each other, they decide to go to the bar to celebrate their new friendship with a pint of beer. Marty was still playing on the stage, you could hear the variety of elements from different musicians that Marty loves and adores but the music you are listening to now wouldn’t exist if Marty wasn’t there. It was definitely not Marty’s intention to make Emily and Victor begin to go out from that night and it was definitely not Emily’s intention to meet Victor. It was definitely not Victor’s idea to appear around the bouncer and happen to see Emily telling the bouncer her name, and coincidentally remember the girl with red lipstick standing next to Marty’s Facebook profile picture. It was all because of the door, the door that decided not to be slammed again. It make sense that after Victor and Emily danced the whole night, after they talked about their interests and how they met Marty, they discovered their mutual passion for art as well as how Marty’s music brought them together. Poor Marty, was DJing so hard on the stage, wondering if Emily came to this gig or not, and put on extra deodorant so that he won’t smell The Short Nightmare about Curating
too bad in case she falls in love with him. The spotlight on the stage was too bright for him to see the crowd, he was soaked in his own sweat, the headphones started to irritate him, he found that was not in a very good mood, even though the dance floor was clearly in its full swing. What he didn’t notice was just a start for his miserable evening. It was three o’clock in the morning when Emily and Victor arrived at Emily’s door. Her room was in a mess after thieves WALKED INTO her flat and not only took everything away but also brunt down the place by throwing a cigarette butt on her carpet. It would be very ironic if the slogan “Smoking kills” on the box was brunt down and left on the floor… it did happen in case you want to know. After the firemen expressed their condolences, they left Emily with Victor and went away. ‘I have nothing left. The only thing I can at least be happy for is that I am still alive.’ Said Emily. For some reason, it seems to make perfect sense for Victor to ask Emily to come over and stay at his, and the most natural, generous one. Emily agrees, after all, even though she knows deep in her mind that the last rule that she still follows is about to break at this very moment. It is not just because she can’t resist this invitation, but rather according to the circumstance, the best option would be staying at Victor’s place. Just for one night, Emily promises herself.
But of course, she stays longer than just one night.
The door finally gets its peaceful evening that can ever wish for. It lies on the floor with satisfaction that there won’t be any brutal slamming, or late night disturbance anymore.
The Short Nightmare about Curating
Emily and Victor went home and tumbled straight to bed. In the cab, they figured out the best solution to face the fire is to start another one. It would be rude to not to mention Marty, so I will briefly mention his part. After saying goodbye with Emily and Victor, he noticed that Victor’s lip shared the same colour as Emily’s. He figured tonight will be another night to spend with one of his fans. Sex is cheaper than free, and it goes cheaper when you have been on a stage for the whole night. “Always better than spending another night alone anyway.” Marty thought. Even the most intimate behaviour for lovers to acknowledge each other physically, can be replaced by money or simply some other external value such as social and economic value. The loss of connection to material, the loss of community, accepting imageries that are hyper-violent and hypersexual, no more flirtation was required in Marty’s private life. He sometimes felt that he was just like a porn star in one of those sexless pornos, thrust a figure that can be easily replaced, exchanged, as a skin coloured mask that you can put anyone’s face on. As he penetrates, the girl beneath him keeps shouting some words and making noises that obviously don’t match with her facial expression. She probably thinks about how to tweet about this evening on Twitter, or brag about it to her friends. Marty comes, takes off his condom, falls to the other side of the bed and tries to sleep. The girl reaches for her blackberry and types something.
It happens almost every Friday night.
The Short Nightmare about Curating
ACTION & AUDIENCE
ACTION & REACTION
BEHAVIOUR & LABELLING
A TYPE OF RESISTANCE TO SUBORDINATION
THEY ARE REACTING TO OTHER THINGS: THEY WERE NEITHER ADMIRED NOR CONDEMNED, THEY WERE THE REJECTS OF A MACHINE THAT HAD GONE WRONG.
PUTATIVE DEVIATION
STEREOTYPING
MYTH MAKING
LABELLING PROCESS
EXPECTATION OF RECURRENCE OF DEVIATION
A WHOLLY NEGATIVE SYMBOLISATION
DEVELOPING
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DEMONOLOGY
The way back to the office proves to be one of the most intolerable rides for Victor so far. It is bright outside, at the hottest temperature and he is melting in his car. The colour of the desert makes Victor unconsciously wet his lips. The driver and guard don’t show any interest in partaking in dialogue. Victor stares out the window where he sees his own reflection in the glass. ‘Some kind of vulnerable.’ Vincent thought.
The photo shoot at age seventeen by Mr. Anderson has a great impact on Victor. Although it is almost too cruel to admit that their appearance does make some people’s lives easier for them, it happens to Victor in most cases apart from the photoshoot. For the very first time, Victor felt that he was surrendering to something, to a camera, not because he didn’t value his pride, or his own free will, but because of he enjoyed the direction from Mr. Anderson. As if he is willing to surrender to an unexplainable power when the camera gazes at him, open to Mr. Anderson’s direction. At one point he started to think that he was born for these photographs rather than for other mortal reasons. It is essential for him to acknowledge that, there is something that needs to be addressed through a medium, but in order to address these messages; he has to pay for it by surrendering to it. There is something intrinsic and delicate about this moment, he later experiences when he curates his first exhibition in a bookstore, a state of mind that you dedicate to a subject that is worth sacrificing other things to achieve. The brief encounter with Mr. Anderson wasn’t just about Victor’s discovery about himself, his sexual attraction towards both sexes, the raw tension between two very different human beings from different cultures, family backgrounds and ages can achieve such communication by an immaterial force. There was no physical attachment involved. However, these pho-
The Short Nightmare about Curating
tos are so breathtakingly genuine and beautiful, so beautiful that it was widespread and Mr. Anderson, before his identity as a photographer being praised, the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) accused him as ‘Introducing inappropriate molestation-inclined behaviour to a pupil.’ The PTA forms a jury with other conservative teachers aiming to push Mr. Anderson’s resignation. Years after, Victor encountered a similar public dispute regarding Jeff Koons’ artwork. The sensation that Jeff Koons causes when ‘Made in Heaven’ – a cooperative of photographs that Jeff Koons with his then not-yet married partner, Ciciolina – was hung on a wall in downtown Manhattan. A billboard of an unmade movie, an explicit portrait for loving pictures as the artist claimed. He thought of how Mr. Anderson faced the whole obviously irritated parent body with an honest, and polite attitude. Also recalled how these jury people didn’t seem to listen to him at all but rather believe what they heard from a deep throat at school. The objective of this artwork wasn’t the reason they cared, nor was it the imagery they immediately perceived, but rather the eagerness of proving their self-righteous attitudes by applying morality onto such subjects. Mr. Anderson’s resignation was the real victory of the PTA, sadly, and the photo shoot wouldn’t be so wrong if it were in a different context, at least not in the high school environment. Something about Emily really drew Victor’s attention when he first saw her. She had eyes just like a newly born deer, clear and innocent as though there was honesty in her whole life. Some people go to a horse race and instead of making a bet based on all the figures and numbers on the racing report, they go to the horse stable and look at the horses’ eyes, and then they make a bet. Similarly people’s eyes sometimes speak more than a thousand words. Victor remembers how she reacted to the beer he recommended to her on the first night they met, she spit it out right away but apologised afterwards, “Sorry, it just tastes horThe Short Nightmare about Curating
rible, and I won’t let it touch my body.” She is neither the hottest girl in the room nor the most successful one, but she is so damn honest. She has the same gaze when she says she’s sorry, just as how Mr. Anderson finally has to apologise to the jury, mere words on the lips to get through the situation. The way they say sorry is not to apologise for their actions but for the fact that they acted. They started going out two weeks after Marty’s DJ night. They went for coffee, an afternoon walk in the park, or movies and did almost everything together. But the only activity they were both enthusiastic for but would never do together before, was to go to an exhibition. They both thought of this fact, but tried to avoid it. It was too risky to go to an exhibition when their relationship was still at such an early stage. You might say “come on, it’s just pictures on the wall”, and then you will find yourself in deep shit. In fact, it’s never just about pictures on the wall. An art exhibition can trigger a lot of things, especially to people with brilliant minds. For example, it could trigger the most fundamental values for questioning economic power of the work, the sexual desire or sexual orientation, politics or nationality, a feminism debate, organic food, environmental art, animal rights etc… It was indeed very hazardous when you had to be there, staring at the art without anything else but the picture. Even if you try to talk about the wine at openings, they are basically free and the worst quality of the kind so it really is not worth talking about. Unless you both like the art, or both don’t care, the immediacy of the art that you perceived from the symbol without delay neither necessitating attention creates the risk of the following results:
a)B r e a k ing apart B)Quarrel C)Endless ice cream and crying The Short Nightmare about Curating
D)Romantic movies F)Rebound
and this is impossible to avoid most of the time.
It has been two months since Victor’s arrival in Dubai. He founds himself still confused by the city. The guards have remained silence for the whole journey so far. The only noise is from their speakers, which they did not talk back either. “The silence makes the trip even longer.” Victor thought. Dubai as one of the fastest developing cities now in the world, after realised that their oil reserve has less than twenty years limits. The Dubai government has been trying to develop their real estate, entertainment, and tourist industry. After completing several artificial islands, they now being seen as an international city, the gem of Arabian Gulf. Also, wanting to be the first central Asia biennale. Victor was aiming at curating a biennale unlike any others in Dubai, where remarkable become reality, introducing the most innovative contemporary art development on earth. It is flexible, mobilising, rooted in the deserted environment where ambition has no limits, and creates miracle, a strategically designed art paradise. On the plane to Dubai, Emily decided to not to research anything from Internet about Dubai and just let the city surprise her. On the contrary, Victor always does research before any of his trips, and make sure everything is under his control. Emily packing up her luggage the day before she left for Dubai, eating toast while typing on the computer, putting butter on the kitchen countertop without even a plate, all the plants she ever had dies within a week. Always went to another after parties that weren’t part of her plan.
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Sometimes Victor would be really mad at her, they won’t talk for days, strange enough, seems to be the best time for Emily to create artworks. As if she needed Victor’s anger to feel the tension in the air, the feeling of something might end horrible, or something fragile was about to break. Then Emily would lock herself in her studio for days. Some day she won’t sleep at all and only focus on producing artworks. Out of curiosity, Victor asked her process after the third time it happened. She said: “The process of making for me is the process of waiting—waiting for cats to lose a few whiskers, waiting for sunflowers to dry out, for flies to get hungry, and for spiders to build webs…It’s simply carried out by others.” “What do you mean?” Victor asks. “It brings out another aspect of my works’ potential cruelty…that I’m abusive to my background or something. I still find it interesting that so much empathy can be projected onto a dead fly, or the strange possibility that it might, for whatever reason, be unfair for me to remove some spider’s home, or prematurely end the already short life of a fly. It’s like projecting the tragic onto a used cotton ball… I think my project as not so much being to expose or uncover them because in a way I think. ‘They are on the surface. They are evident, they don’t need to be exposed’”. Like how the music critic described the Canadian composer Caribous’ 2005 record “The Milk of Human Kindness” is a record without the past. It means an album that cannot be traced back in history, just like how Emily always refuses to talk about her past with Victor. Victor has no idea of what Emily’s life like before him, neither part of her life when she is in the studio. Like how artwork is placed in the gallery or museum. It’s the viewer’s response and interact makes the work of art to talk to you. They makes you feel like you are reading a book that was written reverse but the result is so mysterious that charms you into the story and you find yourself have to keep going. The Short Nightmare about Curating
Finally, Victor arrives at the back of the office building; the protesters were tripled from this morning when the news just came out. Different from other meetings, this one is rather like going to court. “Calm down…Victor.” He told himself. The guards open the backdoor, carefully covered Victor’s head and disappear behind the door.
Before ‘The Thing’ happened, Emily goes out to discover the city when Victor is at work. She can feel the burning heat on her skin every time she walks out of the shadow in the city. The hotel usher gets a pink taxi for her; she sits in and notices the driver is a woman who drives with her veil on. The radio is broadcasting a cheesy hip-hop song. The lyrics were offensive but don’t seem to bother the driver. Emily gets off the taxi at the entrance of the biggest mall in the world where has an aquarium inside of the building. She was distracted and disoriented by this weird juxtaposition that a place where water is the most rare resource has a huge tank of water for these fishes. The sharks aren’t dissected this time in the Tate Modern but located at a place where it shouldn’t be instead. A place where it was man made in order to imitated nature, living in a fantasy world where it thought to be the ocean. Maybe it is actually being dissected and placed in the box, at least its soul is free from misconception, lies, and constantly discovery of unusual objects or realities. For Emily, the whole mall could be an enlarged copy of any other department stores in New York, London, or Tokyo. It is rather hard for Emily to find anything that she is unfamiliar with. She doubts the flight from London to Dubai was just another dreams that she has on the plane, but unlike the other nightmares she had normally, she arrives at the destination where the dream seems to continue in reality.
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She sits down at Starbucks with the macchiato. As usual, she underestimated how much whipped cream and caramel they put in the coffee that makes it taste like a milkshake. She doesn’t remember who among the green aprons got the bill for her, for that, she felt slightly ashamed. She looks around the coffee shop, feels like go to a party where you only know the host. Here, the siren logo on Starbucks is the only one she knows. How strange it is that travels to a completely strange place, and then feeling familiar to a commercial logo that doesn’t ever talk back. While she was immersing in her thoughts, she feels someone was staring at her. She looks around but realises nobody cares to response to her eye contact. Finally, she caught a glance from an Indian girl, who cautiously looking at her and moves her eyes away right after her gaze meets with Emily’s. “Help me.” The girl said. Emily knows that she is talking to her. Emily stops the girl by asking where is the nearest pharmacy. “Meet me there.” Emily said. The girl looks into Emily’s eyes. She wasn’t sure if that’s illusion, but she thinks she saw the girl’s lips are shaking, as if something terrible will happen. Emily leaves after the coffee shop closes and to the pharmacy. The Indian girl shows up a few minutes later and they go to the aquarium. “Why don’t you walk next me so that we can talk?” Emily asks when she notices the girl is walking behind her deliberately. “It is better if I walked behind you.” Although Emily doesn’t feel comfortable with the situation, her instinct tells her to compromise with the situation. They arrive between the huge fish tanks, after checking that not much people around, the Indian girl starts to tell Emily the reason why she was so scared. “People kept on telling me how many works they have here and how well they pay you, but it’s not true. I am a full time servant here. I have to beg my employer for holiday, and I was The Short Nightmare about Curating
woken up in midnight whenever they need me. They don’t treat me well, not even as a person. I have to work non-stop, sometimes the male master would come into my room and trying things on me, and he threats me that he will tell the agency to destroy me passport and work permit if I tell anyone these things. They all discriminate Indian’s and Pilipino. European or North American comes to Dubai only want to relax and enjoy the luxurious life, even if some of them report about it, but the situation still doesn’t change at all.” “Why did you call me even if I looks one of those white people?” “I saw your pictures on newspaper with the Art curator, so I think maybe you could help me. The agency wouldn’t help me, not to mention any of those bureaucratic government workers, they are all racists, and nobody will listen to you if you are an Indian worker here. The media doesn’t care at all; they only come here and take photos then go. The biennale will attract a lot of people; the government can’t really censor the artworks like what they do to movies, right? This is the last chance I can think of. Please, help me. Get me out of here.”
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The ambiguity of the crowd situation Media created the news and images, which lent the cognitive basis for the panic
The Cognition is socially controlled.
The Cognition is carried out by the mass media. Publicise the events Led to direct publicity-seeking behaviour Creating a triggering-off or contagion effect Commercial exploitation, magnified the deviants’ dichotomy and gave the groups a greater structure and common ethos than they originally possessed The manipulation of appropriate symbols is made much easier when the object of attack is both highly visible and structurally weak.
Increased deviance
Situational pressure conditioned the
– Polarisation
control culture
Situational logic to law enforcement
Polarised collectivity.
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.
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Everyday, Victor’s life was bombarded with meetings. He just wanted to relax when he gets home from work, then talks to Emily and to sleep. Emily normally waits at the hotel room for him, but not tonight. He searches the whole flat. He goes into her room where she uses as studio and found out sketches looks like architecture plans on the paper, all filled with some ropes and lots of electrical tapes. He felt slightly to see these things in her studio. But knowing how Emily doesn’t like showing her creating process to other people, he left her studio and double-checked the flat, also left voice mail on her phone. Victor figures that he can only wait for her. He shut the light and heads back to the living room. Turning on TV.
Have you ever had an experience that when a TV was turned on, you can feel the silent electricity and the air would be influenced in an inexplicable way? That is either by its ratio wave or other invisible radio which beyond our vision. Victor turns on TV, on news channel, a young man standing in the crowd appears on the screen. He holds up a sign and speaking about how American citizen has no financial supply for their health insurance but the government, instead of fixing laws to help the domestic health, they are having a meeting on legalising supplement to the biggest bank at Wall Street for stabilising the market. These protesters have been occupying the park at the financial district, lots of musicians all go there and hosing concerts to support them. They called it the revolution of love, a revolution that is about to give, because when you are in love, you want to give more to someone, and that’s what these people want to pursue. Victor stares at these news footages while sitting in the seven stars rated hotel. Like anybody else, he feels the anger inside of him when he saw these occupy events. He feels the needs to do something, to change the polarised economic situation, and to fight against the 1 % that benefit from other 99% of workers. Later he thinks of the fact that he is surrounded by all the 1% here in Dubai so that makes The Short Nightmare about Curating
him one of them. Before he shut down the TV, the last interviewee was a kid on the street who looks like in elementary school and said “… It would be just satisfying just to get one banker arrested… at least one…we’ll decided.”
That was before it all happened. Victor thinks about how these tiny events in life would become a chain that bond to today’s situation. These two guards follow Victor from the taxi to his office, where all the glasses were being replaced, so does all other fragments and bits from the last night’s attack. One of the guards checks all the windows, which have been replaced by bullet proofed glasses. He pulls off the blinds, and tells Victor: “It is better if nobody knows you are here.” Victor laughs at himself, and that is the only thing he can do now. The meeting starts in five minutes, he collects his files and walked to the meeting room. After Victor entered the professional art world - which has no clear definition anyhow, but once your email inbox start to receive personal emails instead of newsletters from directors of major museums and commercial galleries, you know you have set a foot in the other side of the door – and that is how Victor began to surrender the parts of himself that were no longer necessary. His desires, beliefs, ambitions, doubt; every trace of his humanity was discarded. What it means is different dynamics of the world that he will be involved in, and also separates him from work and play. It is astonishing for him to look back on the hedonism, working with little budget…independent curator situation he left behind. He remembers it all. Every single detail. Like how everything seems better backwards after time filtered all the shit out, maybe that’s why how nostalgic is such a useless, melancholic emotion that you realised that you had it but you will never get it again. He used to write for his art schoolfellows for free, for
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exhibition catalogue… criticism or artists writing… just anything. It was purely selflessness, sharing and generous seems to be a normal thing to do. Like how he always concerned about the expenses on his medium and worried about people’s reaction to his artworks, whether if his exhibition is reflective enough, also questioning his roles in the society whether or not it is widely known, engaged by other relevant communities, or even the irrelevant ones. These elements of social justice, personal relations and respects for non-monetary …etc, were what Victor were drawn to art… as a unique entity, disparate from purposeful life but entertains with the chaotic infinite and configures the chaotic within the finite. But what he remembers most about his old life… was the ____________(purposeless).
Victor has been working in art, and in its cause, for years. It has become a way of life itself and a passion for Victor. For years, he has been trying to observe the possibilities and limitations. But a few years ago he stopped ‘needing’ it. He used to like visiting galleries, anticipating the thrill that comes when seeing reality filtered though the mind of an artist. Today, at such a sight he feels lassitude and a mood verging on depression. This is the result of repeated disappointment with artistic propositions. Art is a mechanism, which works by combining the powers of intellect and intuition, with a desire for dissent. It might give rise not to strange and somewhat inscrutable artworks, but to substantive tools for acting on the world. The mountain of art gives birth to a mouse. Thus, people otherwise extraordinarily wellequipped –artists–produce paradoxical or utopian visions and a social critique which neither they nor their viewers are willing to translate into a political or any other practice of any tangible social value. The dominate curatorial strategy is based on administrating art objects; The Short Nightmare about Curating
these are commissioned, transported, and insured, with attention paid to copyright as well as to properly mounting and taking them down. These practices are characteristic of the entire art world, still dominated by a popular belief in the magical power of the object. It seems as if producing an object and distributing it among people is sufficient to effect change, political change as well. The object alone, whatever else it may be, is expected to perform the social and political work assigned to it, without human agency, without any work at convincing, without difference of opinion or conflict, and thus essentially without any politics. This somehow seems to be the definition of today’s artwork. Victor had started to realize the other side of the door that he was unravelling. And for an art practitioner who despised hypocrisies. It was unacceptable. After her talk with the Indian girl, Emily decided to take a look at the last few pages of her sketchbook‌ and she look up, facing the shop window where the mannequins standing underneath the spotlights, she saw her very own reflection. As she flickering through the pages on different ideas she had from the past. The sound the paper made against each other had the same tone as a wave scraping against sand. And when Emily thought about it, she listened to enough waves every day to constitute what he imagined to be a deep and endless ocean. And she began to see herself in a whole new light. Emily winces at what she has written down in the sketchbook, after a beat, she throws the sketchbook into garbage bin. As the book falling into the bin, Emily felt very proud of herself. She was finally ready to let go of her artist’s burden. A burden that was put onto her shoulder by numerous philosophers, dead artists, old-fashion snobs, bourgeoisies, stereotypes on art workers as the stand for autonomy, disinterestedness, and even self sacrifice that art benefactors and artists suppose to be selfless, and only concerned about art. The life of the ideal artist is no longer supposed to be a continuous story of giving and self-sacrificing. Although the inspiration The Short Nightmare about Curating
came from unexpected source, Emily finally gets rid of the burden that she’d always wanted to. Emily walks out of the mall and she looks back when she was about to get in a taxi. She sees the open gates with all the brands and shoppers in the afternoon. She quickly turns her head back and seeing the once vast, borderless dessert now only exists in between artificial pedestrian lane. What she remembers most is how thrilled she was between the aquarium panels. The place she came to search for some leisure, hoping to find answers from her journey. She found answers all right, but to entirely different questions.
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Interview Dubai Daily asks: “How would you describe yourself and your work?” “I’m not a person today. I’m an object in an artwork. It’s about emptiness.” This is the first realisation that came to Emily’s mind. “I‘ve had a few. My approach to art making really starts with aims. There is this notion of project work that I was also involved in trying to articulate in relationship to a notion of art as service-provision. There’s another way of understanding a notion of project work as art with a project, as opposed to art simply that’s undertaken on a project basis, on a project-by-project basis… My project as an artist, I think, has really always been not to pursue a critical practice but to try to understand what the conditions of a critical practice might be. I see my project as not so much being to expose or uncover them because in a way I think, “They are on the surface. They are evident, they don’t need to be exposed.” I always like to quote Lacan: “The desire must be taken literally.” It’s literal. I’m interested in the morality of what it means to be an artist, with what art means to me, how it defines my life, etc. And my next concern is my actions, the responsibility of my own actions in art with regard to other artists, and then to a wider range of the art audience, such as critics, museum people, collectors, etc. Art to me is a humanitarian act; art is both a political statement and a playground pursuit. And I believe that there is a responsibility that art should somehow be able to affect mankind, let my works that make the public become confused and their critics incensed, to make the word a better place.” Emily said.
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There are some people that achieves in the art world in their early 30s. It is not they have better family background or academic achievement. They are just touched by something extra. Call it luck. Call it grace. One such person is Victor. By the time Emily stepped out of school, he was already a legend. He’d taken more than one third of the cover of art magazines in this global age. Some said that he was by far the most gifted and easily the best of our time in the realm of group exhibitions. Others claimed that he is a great lover who cares and gives art and artist unequivocally for his career so far. Emily thought of the first exhibition they attended together, luckily they both like the show; and they discovered they developed more likeness as they spend more time together. They both like the fact that they are very active in the art world, they also like the fact that they are invited to participate the Dubai Biennale, but among this all, they both like the fact that their relationship goes just as well as their career. One is the superstar art curator in international renowned cities, the other famous for her confrontational artworks. Their life looks almost impossibly glamorous. Despite these outward successes, their story is not going to be a fairy tale.
Emily does not like the fact that whenever she tried to explain her work, people would ask Victor’s opinion first. She also does not like the fact that she is paid way too little as she should be. She also does not like the fact that Victor’s curator position is always overarching her artworks especially she feels her works are treats as part of a narrative all the time. What changes the story from fairy tale to a gothic novel, are two elements indeed – ___________and ___________. And yes, it is normal to meet new people, ignore the news on TV, and slam your door carelessly. But it is remarkable how the simple, modest elements of our life, so often taken for granted, would become the catalyst for an entirely new life.
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Victor takes his phone and dials Emily’s number again. “Emily, where are you? I thought we are going for dinner. I’m starving… oh! Good! Just down at the hotel lobby? I will come down now… okay. Bye” Victor gets off the phone, takes his coat, he carelessly slams the door behind him. Different from last time, there is no noisy like Emily’s door. Instead, there was nothing but silence.
Again, Dubai proves itself, a place where you can create something as big as a man-made island, to a detail of muting the unwanted music.
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QUESTIONS 1: Were you able to fill the blanks that appear in the stories so far? ______________________________________________________________________________ 2: Do you know that most of the employers in art industry based on short-term contracts? _______________________________________________________________________________ 3: Who is the most famous contemporary artist that you know? Does he/she curate exhibitions as well? ________________________________________________________________________________ 4: Do you like the story so far? (A) Yes (B) No
5: Does Emily resemble any artists that you might know from publications or mass media? (A) Yes
(B) Maybe but wasn’t too sure. (C) No
6: Have you understood, in reading to this point, that Victor is actually implying Dr. Frankenstein? (A) Yes
(B) No
7: Is there too much theoretical discourse in this novelette? (A) Yes
(B) No
8: Did you notice that there are at least four different types of time and space crisscross? (A) Yes
(B) No
9: Do you feel that the rise of Internet is actually making everybody desperate for attention? (A) Yes
(B) No
10: Would you like somebody died in this novelette? (A) Yes
(B) No
11: Any sexual intercourse plots? (A) Yes
(B) No
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12: Has the work, for you, raised some questions towards moral, finance and the mean of making or participating in art? (A) Yes
(B) No
13: Is the metaphor of curator as Dr. Frankenstein collaging artworks into a exhibition in order to provide a dominant narration for the audience make sense to you? (A) Yes
(B) No
14: Who do you think it might be the monster? (A) Emily
(B) Victor (C) Marty (D) All of them
15: Do you feel that the participation of the writer in this novel by reading her writer’s monologue and her sincere discourse in the novelette? (A) Yes
(B) No
16: Holding in mind all writing on contemporary art, in all languages and any format, how would you rate the present work, on a scale of one to ten, so far? (Please circle your answer) 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
17: What do you drink while you were reading the novelette? (A) Tea (B) Coffee (C) Iron Blu (D) None of above 18: In your opinion, should human being embrace their dual (even multiple) personalities in order to make life and work easier for self and others? (A) Yes
(B) No
19: Could you possibly illustrate your reaction after reading the paragraph below with three punctuation marks? Rarely is any reference made to the book but we hear about “that monster Frankenstein.” Now, poor Frankenstein was not the monster at all, yet for years he has done rhetorical service as such. It can only be fervently hoped that the successive editions of Mrs. Shelly’s fantastic and tiresome tale may at last stamp out the fallacy.
1: __________ 2: __________ 3: __________ Thank you for your participation. The Short Nightmare about Curating
A good example of the liberation of pornographic movie in full detail intercourse is the movie ‘Deep throat.’ It enters on the main street cinema in New York, in spite the movie depicts in full detail intercourse. The story was about the girl who found her clitoris located in the throat rather than vagina, her sexual frustration leads her to the doctor, who decided to examine her body to find out where her clitoris is located so decided to use his body part to help the girl to have normal, enjoyable sexual intercourse. Later the term ‘Deep throat’ was christened as a term as unknown resources in the Watergate. Pornography entered the popular consciousness and getting more successful that the Hollywood might start to embrace it. However, the setback came quickly after Richard Nixon aligned with right wing lawyers to oppose the liberty. Hollywood later looses its interest of producing X-rated film since the arguments with different law under various local governments all have different standard. They can only make their way to the edge that accepted within X-rated film categories, others were being marginalised to ‘Hard-core’ film. The term ‘Hard-core’ stands as fully erect and hard penis so that guarantees the film is involving the fact and true events not merely fantasy or desire.
‘Hard-core is thus distinguished as the only cinematic genre which can actually guarantee to deliver on cinema’s age-old claim to represent reality instead of illusion‘ -Edward Buscombe, Cinema today, 2003
September 11, the Bush Administration out-sources the running of the “War on Terror” to Halliburton and Blackwater… After a tsunami wipes out the coasts of Sountheast Asia, the pristine beaches are auctioned off to tourist resorts … New Orleans’s residents, scattered
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from hurricane Katrina, discover that their public housing, hospitals and schools will never be reopened… The shock doctrine applies to these examples that shows the use of public disorientation following massive collective shocks to achieve control by imposing economic shock therapy. - Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine, 2008
At the dinning table, Victor and Emily sit in a nice Italian restaurant and both staring at menu. Although Emily seems distracted. Victor asks: “Emily, you don’t like this one? We can go to other one if you want.” E: “Oh, no! Sorry I was trying to figure out something.” V: “What’s the matter? Tell me about it, I might be able to help.” E: “I met an Indian woman at the mall today. And she asked me to help her because she has been torturing by her employers. Which makes me feel very uncomfortable...you know? Seeing how rich these people are here, but another world just parallels with each other secretly...” V: “I know. It’s really crazy here… tell me about it.” E: “Anyway, how’s your day? Is the biennial coming along well?” V: “Loads meetings as usual. I am really exhausted. I didn’t even have time for lunch break, but it’s coming along well. I just need to figure out how to redesign some parts of the installation layout.” E: “Redesign the layout? What happened? I thought that was done ages ago.” V: “No. There are some artists have some problems with shipping and schedule, and some other personal affairs between these artists need to be solved. Mostly is some organizing The Short Nightmare about Curating
stuff having problems. Some artists insist to have bigger space when they don’t actually need it. The worst part is that some of them have such high egos that wouldn’t cope with anything, others have great works but they aren’t forceful enough for their works during the planning, which you will try to avoid those one cries louder get everything. Some of the artists are still changing their works as well. Everything could be a big discussion.” E: “This is unbelievable. I hate how people get caught up on these things.” After they both drink some wine, Although Emily knows it might be the worst timing for her to mention the new idea of her work, but there is not much time left. So she goes: “hey...I am actually thinking about including the experience that I had this morning into my work…” Shocked by the sudden proposal, Victor gulps down the whole glass and he says to Emily. “I am not sure. You know how late it is to change your work. I have to talk to the committee. Why do you suddenly thinking about putting extra content?” E: “I just really want to do something for the lady. I feel that’s what I came here for. Would you push it for me? I really want to do it!” V: “I will try to talk to them. But I do not guarantee anything.”
For the whole dinner they have been trying to avoid this biennale topic being brought up again. However, they both seem to be distracted by talking about something else, which makes the dinner ridiculously restless. Victor knows by heart that how Emily feeling frustrated by his fame overshadowed her works all the time. He not only deeply in love with her, also he adores the honest and genuine qualities in her works. By the time they step out of the restaurant, Victor says: “Emily, why don’t you start your work as soon as you can, and I will take care of rest of the parts.” “Victor… You don’t have to do that. I understand how hard it is to organise things.” The Short Nightmare about Curating
“Yes, but I do trust you and love your works. So don’t worry. I will take care of other organising stuff and convince the committees.” Victor kisses Emily on her forehead and they walk home.
Now, Victor sits in the meeting room with the committee.
He holds back, remember-
ing the mistake he made before. Thinking about his deepest doubt on relational art, where artworks create a social environment where people come to participate in an activity, exchange their subjectivity later generate a collective meaning based on the art environment. A seemingly open-ended result, voluntary participation, is actually disguised by a top down system which a scenario has already constructed which artists act as designer and function over contemplation. The thought of creating a decentred flattened art biennale, which Victor imagined to be the perfect irony towards the development of Dubai, is an omission now. And what the riot is about. The reason why Emily’s work causes such unimaginable crowd moral outburst is _____________ (Fear) Subjectivity can never work if there were nothing to react from. And that is to say one must attend to ones already existing reactions and responses. The making of connections, the production of encounters, must be paralleled by a vigilance of the body-mind. The predominant production of subjectivity today is based on fear. Emily knows that deep in mind from the moment she met the Indian woman in the shopping mall. How scared the poor girl was. Since the subjectivity is made up from a multiplicity of refrains, Dubai, the biennial, the existence of Victor, the relationship between them, art … these affective refrains are mutant centres of subjectivation. And that provides another perfect material for Emily. She knew her way
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to get the most out of it. A week after the open ceremony of the Dubai Biennale, the biennale office building tripled their security guards number. Hatred phone calls, emails, also bricks were thrown onto the windows… and that’s just friends. The Indian girl was found dead in the wild after her employer sees the footage of she talks to Emily in the CCTV. The artwork was executed in a way that provokes the hidden discrimination in Dubai’s society. Emily once thought she was doing the right thing. But it isn’t for the people of Dubai apparently. A threaten video disk send to the office this morning, and threatening the committee takes down Emily’s work, otherwise they would ‘execute the punishment.’ Victor sighs. He came to realise that control doesn’t necessarily oppose to art and creativity. “Something must be done tonight.” Victor says to himself and stands up, preparing to report to the committee. At hotel room, Emily sits on the floor, staring at the TV news talking about the outrageous reaction in the Dubai Biennale as Victor comes into the room. TV: “The Dubai public express a feeling of shock, of outrage, and anger … if this is what contemporary art has sunk to, this level, this outrage, this indignity…” Victor looks exhausted, says, “Emily, I need to tell you something…” Emily stares at TV pretending she doesn’t hear Victor. After a long wait, she says with her eyes looking straight towards the screen. “Can I choose good news first?” “No… Emily, you saw it on the news already. We have to take down your work.” “Excuse me?” Emily turns to Victor. She looks like not aware of anything that happened in the past week. “You heard me, Emily. This is getting out of control. The committee has decided that we really… really need to take it down. I am sorry.” The Short Nightmare about Curating
“No, you can’t take my work down… we had agreement. You can’t just take my work down because these people can’t take criticism.” “Emily, I wouldn’t have agreed at first place if I had known you are going to make works like that. It’s outrageous, and I have to respect the committee’s decision. Please don’t make things anymore difficult for me.” “But you are the curator. You are suppose to help me, talk through it with all those imbeciles, not coming here to tell me to take down my work!” Emily said as she stands up. Her face seems to change a little. “I know, but this is my job. The work has to be down by tomorrow, I tried to keep it, believe me. It is my job; I have to take care of the sponsor and the committee. You know how complicated it is. And your work was just …” Victor hesitates before finishing his sentence. He should never bring her work into this conversation. At least not commenting directly on. “JUST WHAT?” Emily seems more affronted now. Victor looks away. “You are supposed to represent me, help me through, not telling me to take my works down just because those people don’t like it.” She said. “Emily, the work is great, and I love it. I am sure if we were in New York or London, the reaction would’ve been very different. But we aren’t there. Maybe next year in London, or Kassel, I promise it will be better and would be easier for you, for me and for everybody.” “Don’t pull those management tricks on me. It’s all about you. What about my work, my career? This is part of me you are taking down, and just because you are afraid of those people? You only care about your job. You know what, Victor, you are a murderer, a monstrous murderer that kills my artwork, my idea, my creation.” “Emily, I don’t think it is fair that…” Emily interrupting. “Of course it is not fair. I have been compromising all the decision that you made, and the only one thing that I asked for. TO The Short Nightmare about Curating
TAKE CARE OF MY WORK, and you can’t even keep this promise. How is that fair? I make this work for Dubai. It has to be exhibited here so that it would make sense! And that is why it is so sensational. Don’t you see the reaction?” “…Will you just take it down this time, and we will have the PR department to handle this, okay?” Emily stops talking, and just when Victor thinks this conversation is about to over, Emily says. “Say it. Why don’t you just say it?” Emily pushes Victor. “Say what?” “Say you hate the feeling that I have more publicity now. Say you don’t like the fact that I’m no longer just your girlfriend.” Victor stares at Emily. If there is one thing about Victor that is the most well known, is that he is the generous person. He gives opportunities away, he shares, he always introducing new artists to others. He doesn’t ask these artists to pay him back, he just needs them to be grateful. And Emily just failed in this case. “The work is inappropriate for the context, and I’m afraid that we do have to take it down. In fact, they took it down already.” Victor answers in a formal tone as if he is talking to strangers. Emily’s lips start to shake “I hate you, Victor. Fine, take it down... you might as well destroy it. Do whatever you want! You know what? Just save all your theories and excuses, you are nothing but a dog that after those savvy, bureaucratic people.” “The press kit will be both emailed and delivered to your inbox and here. You should prepare for the press, and try to stay in because it’s not safe for you outside.” After Victor gives his last mercy to Emily, he walks out of the room.
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Emily is now left alone in the hotel room, defeated. She goes to sit close by the window with a view of another side of the city, instead of urban jungle. There she sees the vast, dry, limitless, and fearful desert. A place that is too dangerous to go, too scary to imagine with too many mysteries. Ancients avoided it by telling frightening stories about it to warn other people so that they won’t have another lost-in-desert story. But only the brave one goes into it, in spite of those rumours, only the creator, the gifted one would take the risk and leap into those unknown and unexpected in order to find out the answer. There are two archetypal myths are essentially human –and essentially contradictory. One inspires a human being to cross over into unknown realms, and congratulates anyone who does so. The other limits human pursuit and experimentation, threatening punishment to anyone who dares. –Susan T. Hitchcock, Frankenstein: A Cultural History And she stands up, looks out the window. She sees a great crowd who are protesting outside of her hotel, with banners but surrounded by Dubai’s military forces. The ancients once thought the world ends where the sun sets, the edge of the sea where they will fall into the void if they approaches but in fact the world is just a giant ball that never ends. Emily knows she is the chosen one. Yes, she is.
The Short Nightmare about Curating
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The Short Nightmare about Curating