There are two new curated online shows featuring the work of robert mapplethorpe.
sponsored by the mapplethorpe foundation
It looks like they are curated by a couple of Curatorial studies majors, one from Bard & the other from Columbia/Whitney. As much as I like mapplethorpe (and I do like him, a lot) the idea of young students who want to become curators, not going out on their own and finding young talent, and then finding a space to show that talent in, getting flyers, etc., seems a bit empty to me. Like really what is the fun in just going through an archive, picking out 30 shots that you think go together and then writing an essay for it. Fucking banal if you ask me.
At the same time there is something to be said for the idea of on the fly curating, or curating as re-mixing (a la muzak). Tom Moody has some great thoughts on this subject .
Posted by thickeye at May 18, 2004 02:51 PM