A Brief History of Curating

by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Christophe Cherix (Preface), Christine Stotz (Translator)

This publication is dedicated to pioneering curators and presents a unique collection of interviews by Hans Ulrich Obrist: Anne D'Harnoncourt, Werner Hofman, Jean Leering, Franz Meyer, Seth Siegelaub, Walter Zanini, Johannes Cladders, Lucy Lippard, Walter Hopps, Pontus Hultén, and Harald Szeemann are gathered together in this volume. Their contributions map the evolution of the curatorial field, from early independent curating in the 1960s and 1970s and the experimental institutional programs that developed in Europe and America at this time, through Documenta and the expansion of biennales.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History, Curation, Design

243 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

About the author

Hans Ulrich Obrist is co-director of the Serpentine Gallery in London. Prior to this, he was Curator of the Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris from 2000 to 2006, as well as curator of Museum in progress, Vienna, from 1993 to 2000. Obrist has co-curated over 250 exhibitions since his first exhibition, the Kitchen show (World Soup) in 1991: including 1st Berlin Biennale, 1998; Utopia Station, 2003; 1st & 2nd Moscow Biennale, 2005 and 2007; Lyon Biennale, 2007; and Indian Highway, 2008-2011.
Obrist is the editor of a series of conversation books published by Walther Koenig. He has also edited the writings of Gerhard Richter, Gilbert & George and Louise Bourgeois. He has contributed to over 200 book projects, his recent publications include A Brief History of Curating, dontstopdontstopdontstopdontstop, The future will be…with M/M (Paris), Interview with Hans-Peter Feldmann, and Ai Wei Wei Speaks, along with two volumes of his selected interviews (Interviews: Vol. 1 & 2). The Marathon series of public events was conceived by Hans Ulrich Obrist in Stuttgart in 2005. The first in the Serpentine series, the Interview Marathon in 2006, involved interviews with leading figures in contemporary culture over 24 hours, conducted by Obrist and architect Rem Koolhaas. This was followed by the Experiment Marathon, conceived by Obrist and artist Olafur Eliasson in 2007, the Manifesto Marathon in 2008, the Poetry Marathon in 2009, Map Marathon in 2010, and the Garden Marathon in 2011.
In 2009, Obrist was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). In March 2011, he was awarded the Bard College Award for Curatorial Excellence.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes you understand about curating a lot! Consists of eleven interviews with different curators, some more interesting than others. Made me realise I might not have it in me to be a curator myself. A job to be respected and admired though!

[Fernando · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un recorrido, en forma de entrevistas, por los trabajos de los principales curadores de Norteamérica y Europa del siglo XX. Todos comparten observaciones sagaces, claras y con grandes enseñanzas incluso para hoy. El gran problema del libro es que si uno se acerca sin un conocimiento previo de artistas, galerías y exposiciones específicas, queda por fuera de muchas de las observaciones más profundas y estimulantes.

[Dmitry Khvatov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read.

[Grzegorz · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a book of interviews and the "history of curating" is unveiled through them.
A book of interviews can be extremely insightful and uncover different points of view on a particular topic like András Szántó skilfully does with his "The Future of the Museum".
Yet "A Brief History of Curating" lacks coherence: there is no clear chronology, it does not have a division into particular topics and the interviews do not follow any particular structure.
Some of the interviews have been published before in other publications within other context and with other goals in mind.
Some of them do not even bother to get into any depth about curating. It's just a list of exhibitions and names of the artists who appeared in them with almost non-existent explanations why they matter or what impact they had.
Threfore it's not easy to uncover a pattern or evolution of curating practices directly.
You are left to decipher this from raw and, in some cases, a bit incoherent responses.
Some names do appear more often than others suggesting to look into those figures additionally.
A nice exception is the interview with Seth Sieglaub, but it's he himself who's driving the conversation with insightful answers to uninspired Obrist's questions. And when Sieglaub makes few interesting points ("a museum is a cemetery for art"), Obrist never follows up, just jumps to a question about yet another show to create a cemetery of exhibitions in a book form.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

One time in my life I thought it was only the artist that matters. But alas, it is very much like the music world. There is the singer/artist, then there are the arrangers/producers. If you map it out there is the artist, the curator, and then the audience for that art. Or perhaps the curator is a translator? Nevertheless this is a fascinating collection of interviews done by curator/writer Hans Ulrich Obrist on really cutting edge curators from the 60's, 70's era and upwards.

It is good he started with Walter Hopps, because I think he's the curator with the most strongest identity of sorts, in that he's a legend (rightfully so) and in many ways an artist himself. The way he looks at exhibitions is more of an aesthetic thing than a business decision. So with that as the foundation, Obrist goes on with numerous interesting individuals regarding the art of the exhibition and the politics of museums. But mostly this is a very up-beat look at the inner-world of a curator and what they do. Obrist asks very pointed and clear questions to his subjects, and they themselves come up with an answer that exposes not only their thoughts but also there love for the artist and their medium. But beyond that it is also a book about 'Taste' and what that means to the world, especially when you use taste to promote a specific vision to the world. A very specific world I might add.

By nature i think a curator is very much a show-and-tell type of character. It is someone who is totally turned on by an idea or a work and needs to expose it. That is it. Also the skill of the curator is also social skills, because you need to communicate that idea to others who may not be in your particular world. Not that far from the book editor or publisher in that sense. Nevertheless there is not that many books on the subject of curating, so this makes it important, as well as an enjoyable read. In the book he interviews Lucy Lippard, Hopps (as mentioned), Pontus Hultén, and Anne d'Harnoncourt among others. Dip into this book, because you are going to pay a lot of money for it once it goes out of print.

[Dan Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was prompted to read this book after hearing it mentioned in a fascinating discussion of issues in contemporary curating on the Art Monthly podcast. It is a book of interviews between Hans Ulrich Obrist and a number of European and American curators who mostly rose to eminence during the 1950s and 60s. Some of the interviews have been previously published in various art journals, others have not. Despite the presence of an interview with Harald Szeeman, whom Daniel Buren had in mind when he described the trend for super-curators to use artists' work like brushstrokes in their own compositions, there is little in the book about the problems of curating and the controversies it can provoke. Obrist repeatedly returns to the themes of interdisciplinarity and the Kunsthalle-as-laboratory, but most of the interviews take the form of a more-or-less chronological account of the curators' respective successes. The final interview with American critic and curator Lucy Lippard is one of the most interesting, as Lippard discusses her involvement in feminist and activist politics outside the sphere of traditional muselogical curation.

[H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as Suzanne Pagé indicated, Obrist's work is not only a toolbox but also an archaeology of the curating spectrum. The author disclosed a panorama of curatorial evolution by sitting down with the most influential curators who shaped the modern landscape of museums/galleries. A scholarly book with elaborated dialogues that documented the remarkable breakthroughs, heydays, and key moments .

*Numerous name dropping and cross referencing - hence one must either be utterly interested in curation, modern/contemporary art or is trained academically to be familiar with these contexts, otherwise this is not an easy book to get through with much joy.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ideal for curators. I cannot imagine this book as interesting to anyone outside of the curatorial field as there is so much name-dropping both in terms of exhibitions and of artists, if one did not already have a very solid background in art history he or she would be reading Wikipedia more often than the book. It covers most of the landmark exhibitions from the past 50 years which is impressive. I finished it with many more exhibition ideas than when I started it.

[Alina Kuchma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Побачила на гудрідз коментар баришні про «коротку історію кураторства» Ганса-Ульріха Обріста, в якому вона виражає своє невдоволення тим, що а) з 11 інтерв’ю, лише 2 – з жінками; б) ці люди стали кураторами тому, що або народилися в правильній родині; були в правильний момент у правильному місці; або мали інший привілей; а їй як жінці кураторці зараз боляче це читати, бо зараз для цього треба мати ступінь магістра, пройти купу неоплачуваних практик ітд. Книжці вона поставила дві зірочки.

Я не можу сказати, що мені не впали в очі ті самі речі, але що мені також впало в очі, – це те, наскільки інакше ми з цією баришнею їх потрактували. Імхо доїб*тися до Обріста, що він спілкувався лише з 2 жінками, це як дойобуватися до серіалу «Чорнобиль», що там не DEI-каст. Ну типу сорі, не було на ЧАЕС темношкірих працівників. Так і тут, можна критикувати male dominated сферу мистецтв у ті часи, але ж не Обріста за те, що тоді мало жінок працювали кураторками? На той час жінки й так не мали доступу до багатьох професій/керівних посад, а тут взагалі йдеться про професію, якої ще толком і не існувало.

Щодо ступенів магістра. Так, зараз стало складніше стати куратором, ніж тоді, але це називається професіоналізація вкупі з капіталізмом, Обріст тут ні до чого. Раніше будь-чим було стати легше, а зараз ми отримуємо для цього вищу освіту. Просто є професії, які існують давно, і цей процес відбувся два століття тому, а професія куратора з’явилася, умовно кажучи, 70 років тому. І 70 років тому був інший світ, простіший світ, картини Мондріана на виставки возили на таксі, доступ до знання/інформації був складніший, ніж зараз з інтернетом ітд. Тоді потенційних кураторів із достатнім/підходящим для цього знанням/контактами було менше, а з часом, як і в кожній професії, де ми здобуваємо вищу освіту, знадобився більш-менш стандартизований reference point, як, наприклад, певний диплом.
А, ну і що за дой*б «кураторами ставали ті, хто опинився в правильний момент у правильному місці» isn’t this the point? Я це зазвичай бачу не як «пощастило», а як «розпізнав можливість».

Для мене ця книжка мала вайб Just Kids Патті Сміт – коли все було простішим і дешевшим, а мистецтво – щирішим; ця книжка мене надихнула на те, щоб більше дізнатися про мистецтво і на роботу з ним, і я може досі не розумію концептуальне мистецтво, але мені страшно цікаво слухати чи читати, що думали митці, коли його створювали, і куратори, коли його вішали; і якби я була кураторкою, то мене б це надихнуло краще робити свою роботу.

І ще був інший коментар про name dropping – так, там багато імен, які, можливо, не митці на слуху, але не дозволяйте цьому вас зупинити, гугліть! Це прекрасно!

[Stanimir · Rating 5 out of 5]

'A Brief History of Curating' is an engaging and inspiring look at the evolution of the curator’s role, filled with personal insights and concrete examples that bring the art world to life. The book features intimate interviews with pioneering figures such as Anne d’Harnoncourt, who advises young curators to “look and look and look,” emphasizing the importance of truly experiencing art. Walter Hopps’ memorable stories — like his innovative "Action 1" exhibition held in a merry-go-round building and his hands-on approach during the Thirty-Six Hours show — demonstrate how curators can create dynamic, inclusive events that resonate with both specialists and the general public. Pontus Hultén’s accounts of landmark exhibitions like Paris–New York further illustrate the transformative power of interdisciplinary shows that blur traditional boundaries between art, music, and design.

Overall, the book not only documents the historical evolution of curatorial practice but also celebrates the creative spirit and bold experimentation that continue to shape contemporary art. It's a must-read for anyone passionate about art, museums, and innovative exhibition-making.

[Anna Blake · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a series of interviews with contemporary art curators that changed the field in the 20th century, Obrist attempts to pinpoint the moment in which the curator became the exhibition maker. Of the 11 curators interviewed, Obrist only interviews two women: Anne D'Harnoncourt and Lucy Lippard.

In the context of the 21st century, as the field of contemporary art curating becomes more professionalized, these interviews age like milk. For a majority of the curators interviewed, it's clear that they came into their positions by either 1. winning the birth lottery, 2. being in the right place at the right time, or 3. privilege.

This isn't to disparage the great work of these professionals, but as a female curator with a working class background, it's exhausting to read these interviews at a time when curating requires (at the very least) a Masters degree, multiple unpaid internships, and years of navigating an industry built on wealth and nepotism.

[Carlos Del Real · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pese a la idea inicial que tuve al leer la introducción de que em encontraría ante una conversación académica sin mayor interés que el preparar una clase más y aportar algunos conocimientos teóricos sobre diversos casos curatoriales en la historia moderna del arte, en verdad me encontré con una obra cuanto menos interesante, una conversación con juicios personales muy directos hacia algunas instituciones, ataques se podría decir, pero prefiero denominarlos críticas constructivas (pese a que algunas de las instituciones estén más bien destruidas a día de hoy).

Una lectura ligera, una referencia constante a grandes figuras de la labor curatorial y una obra significativa para conocer más a las personas detrás no de los cuadros, cuyos nombres suenan y resuenan por toda la sala expositiva, sino para conocer a quién realiza la propia sala, eso sí (y en este caso volvemos a la falocracia histórica) con una laguna crucial en referencia a las mujeres curadoras, qué diría Maura Reily…

[Kevin McDonagh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A privileged glimpse upon a semi-autobiographical journey of cultural exploration. Obrist shares his evolving reflections on how exhibitions can simulate journeys. In constructing a show, Artists in partnership with Curators can share maps of experience with an aim to spread culture and share knowledge not yet crystallised and so outside the access of traditional means.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Execellent interviews, but if you are not familiar with the field you might be spending more time researching this text rather than actually reading the book.

[Megangoldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Your laugh makes me feel lighter. Maybe we can create a connection that goes beyond laughter, one built on exploring desires with honesty and a willingness to be vulnerable?

[Frankie Macaulay · Rating 1 out of 5]

every now and then there’s a gem of wisdom, but difficult to read these transcribed interviews (lots of name dropping and scattered flow); couldn’t finish

[Jovanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book with valuable interviews with Europe's first modern and contemporary art curators. Recognized names such as Polten Húlten really stand out for me personally although the Lucy Lippard and Seth Siegelub interviews are definitely the most engaging since they propose alternative sites for curating besides the museum. Hans Ulrich Obrist is one of my favorite interviewers since he always seems to know the complete background information of all his interviewees giving the reader a full examination of the social and historical viewpoint of each person.

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of interviews with HUO and various curators, so some interviews are more interesting or insightful than others. I would recommend this book, because it is the first major look at the history of curating, and Obrist is a seminal character in the development of curating (and the Contemporary art world in general). I would however recommend that you read this near by a computer for reference, because some names and places were completely unfamiliar to me. Enjoy!

[Ranazh Shaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

скорее альманах интервью, но все же действительно даёт огромный пласт информации и понимания как развивалось кураторство