Museum of Jurassic Technology

Driven: True Stories of Inspiration 

Video here

The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles holds many splendid, unique, and puzzling treasures. It's a carnival of delights and ideas, weaving art and science, fiction and data, all together into something enchanting and joyful. In this first of two segments on the museum, curator David Wilson describes the origins of the project. He says, "I wanted to know, I was compelled to know, what would happen if a person put everything they had, all of their emotional, financial, spiritual resources behind a single project."

READING PROMPT QUESTIONS pg. 205-233

Charles Esche was at the forefront of developing new institutional strategies that moved art into an active social engagement with the spectator. In this process, new institutionalism adopted the corporate vernacular of industries such as media, corporate culture, and science. Eschew advocated the new institutional spaces "have to be part community center, part-laboratory, and part academy, with less need for the intended showroom function. Descriptions of this work are peppered with phrasing such as "construction site," "laboratory," discussion platform," "distribution channel," and "think tank."

Claire Doherty responds to these strategies by asking, "If the exhibitions and projects which have emerged from this discourse (particularly those in Europe) mimic the experience economy of the real world does this lead to yet more coded patterns of behavior for visitors rather than potentially surprising or liberating points of engagement."

Discuss how the adoption of Esche's new institutional;l strategies for engagement are altering the contemporary spectators (and your own) experience of "the exhibition." Compare Esche's and Doherty's positions on the topic and offer your own thoughts on ways these approaches impact the roles of the curator and artist by providing both exciting new possibilities and also potential pitfalls. 

In your discussion consider the final quote in the book by Jacques Ranciere: "The fundamental question is to explore the possibility of maintaining spaces of play. To discover how to produce forms for the presentation of objects, forms for the organization of spaces, that thwart expectations. The main enemy of artistic creativity as well as of political creativity is consensus - that is, inscription within given roles, possibilities, and competencies"

2 paragraphs.

READING PROMPT QUESTIONS pg. 175-205

Voorhies discusses that in 2006, Manifesta 6 was intended to pose an alternative to the usual format of the biennial exhibition by applying such practices as knowledge production and the curatorialization of education. Artist and curator Anton Vidokle was part of the organizing team who wished to turn the exhibition into a temporary art school (wishing partially to critique the biennial model's typical context-specific formats, generalizing themes, predictable participants, and satellite events. Vidokle and his collaborators were also motivated to actively engage the spectators in the exhibition form. The team was inspired by the learning environment at Black Mountain College in North Carolina that considered the ideological model of art school.

According to your texts and knowledge of art and art history 1. what are the merits to this approach for the spectator and the exhibition form - offer specific examples if possible. 2. Also voice your criticisms or criticisms in the text for this type of approach. 3. Discuss how a pedagogical model or approach could relate to the way you present your own work or change the form of your own exhibitions. 3 paragraphs.

Tori Bell Response pages 140-175

1.     Aesthetics- a supplement that both reveals and neutralizes the division at the heart of the sensible (ex. movies like If… and The Trial)

2.     Sensible- how we understand and negotiate a shared social order (we understand that waiting in line is necessary, so there won’t be chaos and trampling)

3.     Police- boundaries that guide and enforce a distribution of the sensible; the process through which the unification and agreement of communities, the organization of powers (ex. don’t touch the art unless given permission)

4.     Perception- sensual qualities of feeling innately possessed by humans; intuitive responses contingent upon condition established by politics (ex. The color white is pure and innocent and black is death and mystery in the West, but in the East white is for funerals, and black is for fertile earth.)

5.     Politics- a consensual social structure that constitute how saying thinking, being, and pleasure occur (ex. a romantic relationship is a consensual arrangement based on the normative social structures but individually adjusted to the desires and needs of the couple)

Technology and changes in societal perception have softened the impact of Rosler, Meckseper, and Levi’s work. We are so inundated with images, both news and commercial that the artistic convention of combining these categories with daily life is simply not as impactful.

Voorhies looks to make less of a direct statement than the others. Instead he makes actual interventions in space, he offers installations which provide experiences for the viewer. While this is certainly a more contemporary approach, whether it actually sparks ideas and dialogue I cannot say.   

Tori Bell Response Pages 105-140

Manifesta wanted to be seen as truly international, so instead of establishing itself in one location it became nomadic. Going to a different European city every two years, responding to politics, society, and aesthetics. They also focused on emerging artists instead of established, allowing them to showcase the experimental efforts of the younger generation. Manifesta also make a point of setting up research facilities like InfoLab and collaborating with the community to figure out the most pertinent issues.

Most importantly Manifesta knows less wealthy countries do not have the finances to host a biennial so they make a point of showing plenty of works from across many regions of Europe.

"What If..." tried to emulate the structured consumer experience that is created through architecture and design. Perhaps it is because I have only seen pictures but I don’t feel that the exhibition was very impactful. They tried to be so subtle and nuanced they ended up looking like an ikea instead of probing deeper into the questions of what it means to live in a society designed for consuming. They would have been better off writing a paper.

Gothic architecture influences my work on an aesthetic level and I look at the design of older prints and ads from the 1800’s. Because I’m more interested in things from the past I think my approach and thinking is different than those who engage with contemporary ideas.