

David Balzer examines the rise of curating and its links with the avant-grade movement. Recalling such landmark works of cultural criticism as Tom Wolfe's The Painted Word and John Berger's Ways of Seeing, Balzer asks whether curationism has finally reached its own limits, where its widespread success has paradoxically led to its own demise. Hence curationism a play on creationism, with its cultish fervour and its adherence to divine authorship and grand narratives. A thought-provoking and entertaining look at the phenomenon of curating. In this vibrant and original book, David Balzer travels through art history and. Everyone, it seems, is now a curator.īut what is a curator, exactly? And what does the explosive popularity of curating say about our culture's relationship with taste, labour and the avant-garde? In this vibrant book, David Balzer travels through art history to explore the cult of curation, where it began, how it came to dominate museums and galleries, and how it emerged at the turn of the millennium as a dominant mode of thinking and being. Curationism: How Curating Took Over the Art World and Everything Else. At the same time, curatorial-studies programs continue to grow, and businesses are adopting curation as a means of adding value to content. Inside the art world, the curator reigns supreme, acting as the face of high-profile group shows in a way that can eclipse the contributions of individual artists. 'Curate' has become a buzzword, applied to everything from music festivals to artisanal cheese.

Now that we 'curate' even lunch, what happens to the role of the connoisseur in contemporary culture?

*Winner of the ICA Book of the Year, 2015* ISBN: 9780745335971 Number of pages: 144 Weight: 162 g Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm MEDIA REVIEWS Balzer writes with zest, scepticism and sly humour as he tracks the rise of the star curator as marking the end of any possible avant-garde.
