Reiner 13

Role of curator as artist vs. practitioner
Alex Reiner
Entry 13- 4/18

Today in my senior seminar art history class, my professor brought in an art curator who has worked in the field for near 18 years in 3 different countries.  He presented on the idea of the art gallery or museum curator as artist versus as practioner of the art of curating.  This is a thought provoking topic to me because it represents a large part of my life, my love of art, and raises the question of what makes an artist.  The speaker spoke to the fact that part of an art curator's job is to interpret what the artist intended to be the impact of his or her piece and display that piece in a way that stays truest to the artist's creative intentions.  He showed two examples of the sculpture, The Burghers of Calais, which currently reside in the UK and at Stanford University.  The sculpture is displayed differently in both locations, causing each sculpture to have a different impact on the viewer. When asked whether he thought the curator was an artist or not, he adamantly stated not, that curators are practioners.  If they were to impose their own creative artistry in the combination and presentation of pieces of art for a show, then they would be altering the intention of the artist, and hindering the piece.  He said that harming the pieces of art in any form, physically or in how they were meant to be presented and interpreted by the viewer would be in direct opposition to his job description.  The title 'curator' comes from the Latin curare, meaning 'to care.'  This definition of his job is what the speaker took to heart and is how he conducts himself in his profession.