<HTML dir=ltr><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=unicode">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16525" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>David Joselit's posting was provocative and salutary, and I to am all for using art works beyond and if necessary against the intentions of their authors and the sensibilities of critics, particularly in these times when the most urgent issues of the use of images in the service of imperialism and war press on us. Indeed, I am in the process of curating a series of shows on the image war, and would be very grateful for any suggestions and directions.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My problem with Documenta was less the instrumental brutality with which it treated works or with the sometimes hostile environments into which it slotted them, but the clarity of the concept to which they were bowed. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Moving from work to work, and puzzling about why I kept coming across McCracken, brought about the idea of the Curatorial Coherence Coefficient (CCQ). Imagine an (ideal and never to be seen exhibition) in which all the works gathered together to make a perfectly coherent curatorial and historical argument, which unfolded with total clarity from work to work. That would have a CCQ of 1. Now imagine picking art works at random and sticking them up in an order governed by chance--that would produce a CCQ of 0. Most contemporary art exhibitions have pretty low CCQs, and this has something to do with a deep and systematic characteristic of curatorial thinking. The Documenta (to make a guess): 0.15.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>The challenge, then, to treat works of art against artistic convention, for sure, but to do so in the service of a more systematic project, one that is not content to nestle comfortably in subjectivity and endlessly multiple meanings--the most fundamental art world conventions of all.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>--Julian Stallabrass</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><br><br>
<DIV align=left><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt; BACKGROUND: white; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The Courtauld Institute of Art is a company limited by guarantee (registered in England and Wales, number 04464432) and an exempt charity. Its registered office is at Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN. The Hermitage Development Trust is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Courtauld Institute of Art. It is a company limited by guarantee (registered in England and Wales, number 3867675) and a registered charity (number 1078342). Its registered office is at South Building, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA. <br />SCT Enterprises Limited is a limited company (registered in England and Wales, number 3137515). Its registered office is at Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN. The sale of items related to the Courtauld Institute Gallery and its collections is managed by SCT Enterprises Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Courtauld Institute of Art. <br />This e-mail, including any attachments, is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the use of the individual(s) to whom it is addressed. Any unauthorised dissemination or copying of this e-mail or its attachments and any reliance on or use or disclosure of any information contained in them is strictly prohibited and may be illegal. If you have received this e-mail in error please notify us by return of e-mail [or by telephone +44 (0) 20 7848 1273] and then delete it from your system <br />
This message has been scanned for viruses by <a href="http://www.blackspider.com" target="_blank">BlackSpider MailControl</a>.</SPAN></DIV>
</body></HTML>