Paper Short Abstract:

This paper interrogates the curatorial mode of research in Western art. Drawing on experiences as an ethnographer of Italian sculpture-making, I argue that, as anthropologists, we count on a long tradition of critical sensibility that could (and should) be brought into the spaces of the curatorial.

Paper Abstract:

This presentation examines somewhat uncertain or uncomfortable positions in the areas where the anthropological and curatorial meet. The ultimate aim is to raise fundamental practical questions about the role of anthropologists in the art worlds that we have become used to occupy. Drawing on my ethnographic research in a transnational art industry (the Apuan sculpture district in Italy), I will argue that a "critical anthropology of art" in the way that Marcus and Myers encouraged (1995) cannot only consider exoticization alone. As I will show, the Academia and Western art worlds of the 21st century demand a reconsideration James Clifford's "art-culture system" (1988), especially in the light of the unquestionably capitalistic nature of so-called "high" art (Mollona 2021). During my own work in a European art market, I was forced to anonymize, break the usual expectations of many actors in the art world, and present critical takes that would be of little use to those with commercial hopes. At times, this involved highly conflictual relations. My paper will argue that, as anthropologists, we count on a rich heritage of critical projects and sensibilities that could (and should) be brought into the spaces of the curatorial. This retention of the anthropological is even more pressing when it confronts a lukewarm, even cold or hostile reception. Should we be a cog in the machine or a stick in the wheel?