Curationism: How Curating Took Over the Art World and Everything Else (Exploded Views)

Now that we ‘curate€ even lunch, what happens to the role of the connoisseur in contemporary culture?

‘Curate€ is now a buzzword, applied to everything from music festivals to artisanal cheese. Inside the art world, the curator reigns supreme, acting as the face of high-profile group shows and biennials in a way that can eclipse and assimilate the contributions of individual artists. Curatorial-studies programs continue to grow, and the business world is adopting curation as a means of adding value to content. Everyone, it seems, is a curator.

But what is a curator, exactly? And what does the explosive popularity of curating say about our culture€s relationship with taste, labour and the avant-garde? In this vibrant, revelatory and original study, David Balzer travels through art history and around the globe to explore the cult of curation, from superstar curator Hans Ulrich Obrist€s war with sleep to Subway€s ‘sandwich artists.€ Recalling such landmark works of cultural criticism as Tom Wolfe€s The Painted Word and John Berger€s Ways of Seeing, Curationism will change the way you look at art – and maybe even the way you see yourself.

‘This is an unusual art book. It is a book you should read and one that you can. Balzer traces the history and current hegemony of curationism, a practice of jumped-up interior decorators who double as priests explaining the gospel to the unlettered masses. A good read, if you don€t mind reading things that you don€t want to know.€ – Dave Hickey

David Balzer has contributed to publications including the Believer, Modern Painters, Artforum.com, and The Globe and Mail, and is the author of Contrivances, a short-fiction collection. He is currently Associate Editor at Canadian Art magazine. Balzer was born in Winnipeg and currently resides in Toronto, where he makes a living as a critic, editor and teacher.