Art Exhibition History After 1960

Catalog description

Focusing on group exhibitions after 1960, this seminar will explore the history of exhibitions and various approaches to the study of exhibition history. Major developments of this period include the growth of independent curating and new curatorial strategies, an increasing focus on thematic exhibitions, the expansion of biennials outside the Euro-American centers, and the use of discursive forms. Among the exhibitions that we will discuss are artist-curated exhibitions such as DYLABY and 9 at Leo Castelli, exhibitions of Minimalism and Post-Minimalism including Primary Structures and Eccentric Abstraction, conceptualist exhibitions organized by Seth Siegelaub, Germano Celant’s Arte Povera + Azioni Povere, Harald Szeeemann’s When Attitudes Become Form and Documenta 5, collaborative exhibitions of the 1980s organized by Colab and Group Material, Magiciens de la Terre, the 1993 Whitney Biennial, iterations of the Havana, Gwangju, Johannesburg, and Sao Paolo biennials, Okwui Enwezor’s Documenta 11, and exhibitions that intersect with political movements including Tucuman Arde, The Bulldozer Exhibition, and China/Avant-Garde. Students will give two short presentations as well as a longer presentation of their research on a particular exhibition or series of exhibitions, and submit a final paper on this research topic along with a file of exhibition documentation.