Book launch for Institution Building
Wednesday, September 23rd, 6:30 pm
Admission is Free
e-flux reading room
41 Essex Street
New York, NY 10002
212 619 3356
e-flux reading room is a collection of books on contemporary art exhibitions open to the public on the lower east side. The books have been donated by numerous art institutions from all parts of the world and reflect some of the more interesting developments in art of the past decade. e-flux reading room is open for research and study from Monday through Saturday, 12-6 pm.
Should you wish to contribute to this growing collection, please send your publications to:
e-flux reading room
41 Essex Street
New York, NY 10002
212 619 3356
***
Institution Building
Artists, Curators, Architects, and the Struggle for Institutional Space
Nikolaus Hirsch, Philipp Misselwitz, Markus Miessen, Matthias Goerlich (Eds.)
With texts by Shumon Basar, Andrea Phillips and Jan Verwoert and a collaborative drawing by Anton Vidokle, Tobias Rehberger, Eyal Weizman, Judith Hopf, Raqs Media Collective and Rirkrit Tiravanija
Sternberg Press, 2009
___
Institution Building presents a study that conceptualizes, tests, and practically applies new models for contemporary art institutions. Based on the work for the European Kunsthalle the approach attempts to constructively question concepts of “stability” and “instability” and—in doing so—proposes a specific strategy for a new typology.
Nikolaus Hirsch, Philipp Misselwitz, Markus Miessen, and Matthias Goerlich have developed three spatial strategies: an unstable configuration, a stable strategy as well as a model that combines the potentials of both variants towards a growing institution. In a context in which it is still broadly assumed that the spatial-physical entity of an art institution must be a coherent physical structure conceived by a single author (usually an architect) the proposal acts as a collective structure consisting of individual components created by different authors. It results in a network of possible spatial options stemming from programmatic modules (such as gallery, archive, library, office) and leads to numerous possible spatial configurations. This alternative model of a growing institution problematizes the relationship between authorship and institution, ultimately defining the institution as an artistic medium. Spatial infrastructure in itself becomes “exhibition” and ultimately renegotiates the default role models of artists, curators and architects.
In a second test phase, commissioned by Goldsmiths College London and its Curating Architecture programme, Nikolaus Hirsch and Philipp Misselwitz invited Anton Vidokle, Tobias Rehberger, Eyal Weizman, Judith Hopf, Raqs Media Collective and Rirkrit Tiravanija to a collaborative drawing of an art institution, which evolved in a sequence of fax exchanges and speculated on an alternative mode of institutional practice.
Nikolaus Hirsch is a Frankfurt-based architect, who has previously held academic positions at the Architectural Association in London, at the Institute of Applied Theater Studies at Giessen University, and at UPenn in Philadelphia. His projects include the award-winning Dresden Synagogue, Hinzert Document Center, the European Kunsthalle in Cologne, unitednationsplaza in Berlin and currently the Cybermohalla Hub in Delhi.
Maria Lind is director of the graduate program at the Bard College Center for Curatorial Studies. Prior to this post she was director of Iaspis (International Artist Studio Program in Sweden). From 2002-2004 she was director of Kunstverein München, where her curatorial team ran a program that involved artists such as Deimantas Narkevicius, Oda Projesi, Bojan Sarcevic, Philippe Parreno, and Marion von Osten. Lind served as the commissioner for Sweden’s participation at the São Paulo Bienal in 2002 (Annika Eriksson) and in 1998 (Ann-Sofí Sidén). From 1997-2001 she was curator at Moderna Museet in Stockholm and, in 1998, co-curator of Manifesta 2, Europe’s biennale of contemporary art. Throughout her career she has contributed to numerous exhibition catalogues and other scholarly publications.
For further information please contact:
e-flux
41 Essex Street
New York, NY 10002
212 619 3356
Sternberg Press
Karl-Marx-Allee 78
D-10243 Berlin
+49 30 5900958-21
[email protected]
http://www.sternbergpress.com
***
Also at e-flux is Martha Rosler’s archive project “If You Lived Here Still…” and will remain on view through Saturday, October 31st, 2009. e-flux project space is open from Tuesday through Saturday, 12-6 pm.
For guided research please email [email protected] to make an appointment.
