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16/12/2003

featuring...

The Centre of Attention, London

curated by Pierre Coinde and Gary O'Dwyer

Artists were given the brief to produce work that took as its source of inspiration the curators of the Centre of Attention. Artists unwilling or unable to bend their practice to this end were not able to take part in this show. 20 artists accepted, producing work in a wide variety of different medium.

Al+Al
Oreet Ashery
estate of H.W Auden
Simeon Banner
Benedict Carpenter
Rosie Cooper
Greg Daville
Eveleigh and Evans
Nooshin Farhid
A.M. Hanson ('alexcalledsimon')
Jasper Joffe
Tina Keane
Josie McCoy
Wiebke Morgan
Brian Reed
Catherine Rive
Tai Shani
Erasmia Stravoravdi
Danny Treacy
Kay Walsh
feat. the Centre of Attention

In this show we aim at problematizing the phenomenon of the curator and elements of the artist/curator relationship.

The reverent respect accorded the artist in the literature that curators produce seemed out of proportion to the activity of art production itself. For instance it is common for the artist to be presented as infallible, above advice and transcendental. Why such piety from the curator? Other questions formulated themselves.

Can the curator be without the prejudice installed by education, social milieu and human nature? Does the curator select art to promote their own view of what art should be like? Does the institution of the art academy encourage censors, acquiescence to authority and the acceptance of received wisdom? The result is an agenda and products that come to appear like a culturally significant phenomenon, worthy of study and accepted as inspirational. But we know that the History of art is a holocaust of reputations. Does institutionalism lead to art that is inert, uninspiring and sterile? Does being immersed in art history and theory and the left wing bias of art world academism compel curators to promote old paradigms and to remain in their comfort zone of prejudice not accepting that the fault lines of culture have moved on?

Is the curator a personal shopper?
Is the curator a parasite?

Is it fair that the institutional curator increasingly uses the limited resources, in effect diverting them away from the artists? Is the main aim of a show the curators own self aggrandisement in the art world? Is the curator a state-funded self-serving functionary?

Is the curator your friend?

Is the curator a neurotic unable to distinguish mediocrity from quality when the criteria to judge has yet to be decided? Do they have any say in the criteria? Is it the unformulated criteria that allows self selected custodians, charlatans and quacks to exploit the scene? Does that matter?

Is it true that nobody knows nothing; neither the artist, nor the curator or the collector? Is it important that we don't know what an artist is doing? Is it better to have a veil of magical mystique a specialized language to incant, a faith in the supernatural and other witch doctoryness so art may get made? Shazzzammm...?

private view: Wednesday 17 December 2003, 7 to 10 pm

exhibition open 18 December to 4 January 2004, everyday 12pm to 5pm (closed 24, 25, 26 December and 1 January)
Note exhibition address: 1-15 Cremer Street, London E2 (Old St Tube)

For further info and pictures, contact Pierre/Gary at the Centre of Attention on 020 7729 0699

The Centre of Attention is a not-for-profit contemporary art gallery. Our next exhibition 'the curators' is taking place from 15 January 2004 in New York.

Image: a work by Eileen Perrier, 2003

The Centre of Attention
15 Cotton's Gardens, Shoreditch, E2 8DN
London

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