What's with the curator?

The word "curator" comes from the English word "curator", which is the full name of "exhibition planner" (or "exhibition planner"), and refers to the professionals responsible for the conception, organization and management of art exhibition activities. In the western context, "curator" usually refers to the professionals who are responsible for the research, storage and display of collections in non-profit art institutions such as museums and art galleries, or the professionals who plan and organize art exhibitions, that is, permanent curators. Corresponding to it is "independent curator", which is usually translated as "independent curator" or "independent planner". [1] The Chinese word "independent curator" began to be used in Chinese mainland, Taiwan and other regions and overseas Chinese in 1980s, and was introduced to the art world in 1990s, and has been widely adopted in recent years. "Independent curator" refers to a professional who plans and organizes art exhibitions according to his own unique academic ideas, but the curator status does not belong to any exhibition venue. Independent curators are different from permanent curators of art institutions (such as art galleries and museums), and of course from gallery owners or dealers who make profits by organizing commercial art exhibitions. In this paper, "contemporary" is a concept of time, especially from the 1980s to the present. "Art" refers to visual art and comprehensive art developed from visual art (including painting, sculpture, calligraphy, installation, photography, video, behavior, network and other traditional and modern art forms. This paper mainly studies contemporary art which is exploratory in concept and form. "Exhibition" refers to the way of combining works in a certain space according to a certain theme, order and artistic form, and spreading information and conducting intuitive education through people's watching and participation. General exhibitions are short-term and change frequently, which is different from long-term and relatively stable exhibitions in museums or art galleries. [2] The exhibitions discussed in this paper are mainly non-profit art exhibitions. "Art exhibition system" refers to the management system and operational norms related to the exhibition of these works of art.

Curators and Independent Curators in Western Context

The emergence of curators is closely related to the establishment of western museums and art galleries. In the past, the English word "cursor" was translated into "curator", "director" or "guardian" in English-Chinese dictionaries, and probably the curator of the museum has the closest relationship with art. In fact, in the western context, "curator", as the earliest occupation, mainly refers to/kloc-a full-time person who is responsible for the research, storage and display of the collections in the museum with the rise of private museums since the 6th century. In some cases, the curator may be the curator, who is also responsible for the administration, fund-raising and social relations of the museum. Later, with the increase in the number and importance of artworks in the collection, there appeared personnel who were specially responsible for the research, storage and display of artworks in the collection. /kloc-after the 0/7th century, private museums began to open to the public. Museums often organize some special art exhibitions or exhibitions according to the times or themes, so early "curators" appeared. /kloc-After the 0/8th century, many national museums have appeared in Europe and America, especially professional art museums or galleries, such as the British Museum, the National Art Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States, and the National Art Museum in Louvre, France. [3] In these large-scale art galleries or art galleries, according to the region or era, there are professionals who are responsible for the research, storage and display of art collections in a certain region or era. They are also responsible for temporary exhibitions in related fields, but generally they are not responsible for the management of the whole museum or art gallery. This is what we now call the permanent curator of an art institution. Japanese museums and art galleries have also established an artist system with reference to the western curator system. The professional background of these curators or artists is usually art history and museum science, and their work mainly focuses on history. [4] In the last 20 years or so, some museums or art galleries in the west began to set up the position of contemporary art curator. These people have various professional backgrounds, including art history, museology, art criticism, art management, and also have specialized art exhibition planning. Its main job is to plan and organize various exploratory contemporary art exhibitions.

The origin of western independent curators can be traced back to the rise of European avant-garde art at the end of 19 and the beginning of the 20th century or earlier. American scholar Bruce Arsh mentioned several early examples in his book Avant-garde in Exhibition: New Art in the 20th Century. In Paris, France before the First World War, independent salons and autumn salons were established one after another, following the tradition of holding alternative exhibitions initiated by impressionist pioneers, showing new paintings rejected by the jury of the official salons at that time, and putting forward the slogan "No judges, no prizes". The first group exhibition of Fauvism represented by henri matisse was held in 1905. The curator of the exhibition is actually Georges de Varyl, Matisse's friend and then vice-chairman of Autumn Salon. [5] In the later surrealism school, as the main spokesman of this school, André Bleton, a French writer and art critic, planned a large-scale exhibition "The First Papers of Surrealism" in new york on 1942. [6] clement greenberg, an American art critic, also planned the "cutting-edge" exhibition of 1950 in new york. [7] Although these people have some characteristics of independent curators in exhibition planning, they did not pretend to be "independent curators" at that time, and people did not regard them as "independent curators".

Strictly speaking, in the second half of the 20th century, especially around the 1960s, independent curators began to appear in western society. An obvious evidence is that Independent Curator International was established in new york, USA on 1975 to promote the understanding and appreciation of contemporary art through international roving exhibitions and other related activities. [8] There is an article saying that the Swiss Chlad Szemann is the originator of "independent curator" in the current hot art industry. The exhibition "When Attitude Becomes Form: Work-Process-Agreement TS- Situation-Option-Information" curated by him in new york on 1969 set important coordinates for contemporary art history, and its unique curatorial ideas and techniques also laid the foundation for the new professional field of "Independent Curator". [9] Schzeman was the chief curator of the 48th and 49th Venice Biennale (1999 and 200 1). Since 1980s, independent curators have begun to play a leading role in the planning of western contemporary art exhibitions, and their influence and power are growing. These "independent curators" wander among artists, art galleries and patrons, and plan many creative and influential art exhibitions with their wisdom, ability and relationships. At present, there are Schrade Schzeman, Hans-ulrich O 'Briest and others who are active in the world.