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ANSELMFRANKE
A
relativevoid,inconditionsofinsecurity,thatthefundamentsandresources,thethoughtsandreferences,
museumforanationundersiegeandinexile:thisisanexemplaryprojectofcanon-formation.Itisinthe
andthehumanrelationshipsthatmakeupthefabricofculturecometothefore.Totalkaboutthecanon
meaningfullyispossibleonlyifwedonottakeforgrantedthemechanismsthatrenderitpowerful,butlook
atitagainstthefoilofhistoricaldanger,whereitsgroundsbecomeunstable.Andhistoriesofcolonialismand
ofexilecreatesuchunstableground,avoidinwhichcultureneedstobereassertedandfoundedanew.
Themuseumthatwasproposedbythe
InternationalArtExhibitionforPalestine
,organizedbythe
PalestineLiberationOrganizationinBeirutin1978,wastoberepatriatedtoPalestineatanundeterminedfuture
momenttosowtheseedsofafuturenationalartmuseum.Historyisalwaysinneedofconstruction,andthis
isnowhereasvisible,perhaps,asinthecaseofcontestednationalities.Inthearts,acanondoesnotalways
workonlyasaninstrumentofinstitutionalpowerandaseatofideologiesandtheirlegitimizationand
normalization.Ungroundedbyafieldofhistoricalcontestations,andfacedwiththedangersofthedestruction
ofmemoryandevenofmeaningassuch,acanonbecomesindispensableintheformationofhistorical
consciousness,andprovidessharedground,likealanguagethatconnectsacrossboundaries.Thequestion
iswhatsuchalanguagemakesspeakable—andwhatitperhapsrendersunspeakable.
SuchthoughtsinformKanon-FragenattheHausderKulturenderWelt.Theoverarchingprojectconsists
ofaseriesofexhibitionsandpublicationsthatreadtwentieth-centuryarthistoryagainstthegrain,inorder
toconnectthepresenttothelivinghistoricalgroundsofartproduction,andtopositionartinaproductive
frictionwithpoliticalhistoriesandwithart’sconditionsofitsownpossibility.
PastDisquiet:NarrativesandGhostsfromtheInternationalArtExhibitionforPalestine,1978
,curated
byKristineKhouriandRashaSalti,wastheinauguralexhibitionofKanon-Fragenin2016.Anongoingresearch
project,theexhibitionwasrevisedandexpandedfromanearlierversion.KhouriandSalti’sreconstruction
ofthestoryofthe1978Beirutexhibitionhasuncoveredanintricatenetworkandsharedhistoryofpolitically
engagedartistsandinitiatives.Further,itrevealsascarcelydocumentedhistoryofgrassrootsartists’
collectivesincitieslikeParis,Rome,andTokyo,andartists’unionsinBaghdad,Berlin,Casablanca,Damascus,
andWarsaw.ItrevisitsseminaleditionsofbiennialsinBaghdad,Rabat,andVenice,museumsinexileinCape
Town,Managua,andSantiago,andthecollaborationsthatanimatedthetransnationalanti-imperialistsolidarity
front.
PastDisquiet
drawscartographiesthatlinkconstellationsofartistsandgroupsboundbypolitical
affiliationsandsolidarities,beginninginPalestineandexpandingtootheritinerantexhibitionsintended
as“museums-in-exile”thatwerecontemporarywiththe
InternationalArtExhibitionforPalestine
,suchasthe
MuseoInternacionaldelaResistenciaSalvadorAllende,
ArtContre/AgainstApartheid
inSouthAfrica,and
Artfor
thePeopleofNicaragua
.Thesehaverevealedrecent,althoughforgotten,museologicalpractices,whilelinks
totheFirstArabBiennialinBaghdad(1974)andthe1976VeniceBiennaleuncoveredyetothercartographies
andexhibitionmodelsthathaveasharedhistory.
PastDisquiet
engageswithalternativemuseologicalmodels
andpractices,ultimatelyexploringthemechanismsofcanon-makingfromacriticalperspective.Its
examinationofthehistoryofexhibitionsallowsittoshedlightontoday’sartisticproductionwithinthebroader
contextofpolitical,media,economic,andculturalconditions.
AnselmFrankeistheheadoftheDepartmentofVisualArtsandFilmattheHausderKulturenderWelt,Berlin.