Most Important Function of Curators Part II #MIFC
Posted in Individualism, Presentism on 16. Sep, 2009
This is what I’ve got so far. Thanks to everyone for chipping in such profound and varied responses.
Ideally, I would want a few more before doing the Wordle. So please keep retweeting and reblogging to see what comes out of this small collaboration.
* Curated Life – To present and promote culture through creative, correct and contemporary means.
* Vicki Walsh – To “invite” the viewer, wholeheartedly, into the conversation, into the museum.
* Steven Lubar – Making choices
* Stephanie Stambaugh – The curator must liberate. First free all art from its unseen existence, then free patrons from their fear of seeing art.
* remaerdyaD – To serve as an antidote to the common misperceived charity of benefactors by publicly reflecting the state of artifact
* Oh No Jo - Imparting universal appeal, so any level of art & culture background realizes importance of works and can learn more.
* Kirsten Teasdale – To help people sort through an excess of information/choices and to shed light on objects that might be missed; to sort wheat from chaff.
* Jay Jordan – To be able to speak coherently after an exhausting install, opening reception, and wine with dinner
* Thomas Tunsch – To connect the histories in order to preserve cultural heritage by enrichment
* Matt Herbison – Serving the Public Trust
* Lee Broughall – Versatility: Manager, administrator, artist, educator etc.
* Leslie Kesler – To provoke (in the F. Tilden sense) people’s engagement with artifacts.
* Elizabeth Barrett – Sharing history accurately while being ethical, detail oriented, and preserving for the future.
* Erikajoy – To act as interpreters for objects
* An Xiao – To deeply understand both artist and audience and be an excellent steward of both.
* Gilliane Richardson – To spark the thoughts of others, intrigue their intellects, and inspire people of all ages to appreciate history
* Francesco Spagnolo – Explore and create connections that artists, academics and the public do not (yet) see.
* Anon – To elicit new connections and possibilities, to act as an intermediary in service to both the artist and the public
* Laura (opheliacat) – Impart understanding, sharing knowledge of objects & their history in a way that is accessible and even entertaining! (AND) The curator is custodian of a collection that s/he must understand & interpret.
* Allison Brown – Educating & inspiring a new generation of (art) history enthusiasts.
* Mar Dixon – TO ensure the artifacts are maintain & kept in safe environment & available when/if needed. Preservation.
* Suzanne Fischer – Making choices, making predictions, making connections. Helping people make meaning from the past.
* Emily Hummel – To draw connections, bring meaning out of the seemingly meaningless. To enlighten.
* Elena Gonzales – Work for good. Get folks to question and share. Move things forward. And, yes, facilitate.
* Maria Silvestri – To tell a story that a viewer makes themselves.
That’s 25 answers. I would like another ten. Drop them into the comments (Make it short), twitter me @newcurator or use the #MIFC hashtag.
And, if it isn’t plainly clean, all these people are worth following.
To act as ‘story keepers’ and to encourage people to interpret the world we live in from different perspectives.
To risk being with the art, immediately and contemporaneously and to offer it in that spirit; to love showing art to people.
To ensure the proper balance between preservation and accessibility for a given collection; to act as a subject matter expert available for consultation by anyone requiring information.
To mediate between raw experience and information. To give material culture life and uncover new paths for uninformed and informed minds alike to travel.
I wish I knew the answer to this but I don’t. I guess everything they do should be of equal importance.
I haven’t got a great answer either.