Articles

This in-progress section brings together scholarly articles and essays that address the exhibition of computer-based art. The following texts are made available through CRUMB (Curatorial Resource for Upstart Media Bliss), University of Sunderland.


Cook, Sarah, An interview with Christiane Paul, 2001. Published by CRUMB (Curatorial Resource for Upstart Media Bliss), University of Sunderland. Available from CRUMB.

Whitney Museum of American Art curator Paul discusses the beginnings of her involvement with new media. The question of whether net art is institutionalized or under-represented is discussed, as is the question of how best to present networked, screen-based works in physical space, as well as the technical challenges of curating media shows. Is there a future of corporate sponsorship for museum exhibitions of media art? How should museums document such exhibitions? Paul and Cook discuss WMAA's Artport and the question of the legitimacy of a museum for American art hosting international artists' web projects. Does the linked nature of the Internet threaten museums' authorship of exhibitions? How to keep up with what is happening in the field?


Cook, Sarah, An interview with Larry Rinder, 2001. Published by CRUMB (Curatorial Resource for Upstart Media Bliss), University of Sunderland. Available from CRUMB.

Whitney Museum of American Art curator Rinder discusses the origins of the show "BitStreams" (with sound component co-curated with Debra Singer), which was to include work expressed through digital media and reflecting on the conditions of life in the digital age. Curatorial choices are discussed under the conditions imposed by a constrained planning schedule; its concurrent run with Christiane Paul's "Data Dynamics" is addressed, as are the politics of exhibiting work not necessarily created for museum/gallery display. The impact of new media art on the curator's role and on museum practice, as regards corporate sponsorship, are also considered.


Gagnon, Jean, Presentation at the symposium Curating New Media Art: Production, Distribution, Consumption. Ottawa Art Gallery, December 2001, organised by CRUMB and Critical Media. Transcript of presentation available from CRUMB.

In his presentation at a symposium organised by CRUMB and Critical Media, Gagnon attempts to theorize his own practice as a former curator of media art at the National Gallery of Canada, in reference to Peter Weibel's curator-as-producer model. He describes the genesis of some of the pieces he commissioned at the National Gallery and stresses that he documented media works in all possible aspects at time of acquisition and tried to acquire original elements and masters in order to best preserve the works. He describes the Langlois Foundation's Research and Documentation Centre and the Variable Media Network and touches on the determination of the market value of new media works in a limited market for them.


Graham, Beryl, Curating New Media Art: SFMoMA and 010101. 2003. Report published by CRUMB (Curatorial Resource for Upstart Media Bliss), University of Sunderland. Available for download from CRUMB.

A case study of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's groundbreaking exhibition "010101," which included new and traditional media and involved interdepartmental curatorial input. The paper studies: the distinctive roles of various museum staff in this show; the exhibition timeline, which differed from that of other exhibitions; formal audience feedback; and press coverage, which was quite high. What the author deems most useful for other museums to study was interdepartmental communication among curators; crossover of press attention; increased involvement of technical staff; a meshing of interpretation and curating; the metaphor of curator as producer; and the nature of the exhibition of Internet art.