The independent curator: origins, politics, problems & prospects

Thesis

This thesis is the first study of the now widespread phenomenon of the ‘independent curator,’ specifically focusing on the pioneering figure of Harald Szeemann (1933–2005).

Traditionally, curators have been custodians of permanent collections in museums or similar institutions, tasked with preserving, researching, and exhibiting them. The 1960s, however, saw a new breed of independent curators emerge who appropriated creative and authorial roles that had previously been the domain of artists alone. Emancipated from any specific gallery and its holdings, these new curators have become freelancers who travel the world, capitalizing on their vast network of connections to stage themed exhibitions with artworks sourced from a variety of artists, collectors, and galleries.

Hitherto art historical writing has paradoxically heroized these independent curators as either ‘genius’ figures or, by complete contrast, forerunners of today’s precarious labourers. My thesis instead situates them as interlocutors in the debates over autonomy and authorship that embroiled not only artistic-cultural circles, but, more broadly, a post-war society that increasingly embraced neoliberal theories of individuality and subjectivity. By examining curation during the 1960s and 1970s, this thesis demonstrates that Szeemann’s exhibitions straddled two competing political strains: burgeoning neoliberal theory and the more Utopian/Anarchic/communitarian ideas that still infuse notions of artistic freedom.

This thesis’ narrative of curatorial independence, however, also recognizes the potential of curators and their exhibitions to be instrumentalized for political ends. Its particular case study is the museological projects that aimed, first, to support the government of Salvador Allende in Chile, and then to restore democracy after the coup d’état of 1973. Tracing curation’s subsequent deterioration into a self-reflexive and academic endeavour, the thesis calls for greater awareness of curation’s political entanglement, before examining the challenges it continues to face.

Authors: Mason, MJ

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-godg7d5ko
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English