On the necessity of wonder: How to explain an artwork to a committee

Keywords:

Wunderkammer, art practice, research, institutions,art writing, sculpture

Available in:

JVAP 7.1 - about JVAP

Funded by:

NAFAE - about NAFAE

Pulished:

June 2008

Article abstract

This essay emerged from an exhibition in 2006 in which notions of the Wunderkammer became central in the curation of the show. It brought together work by Anna Boggon, Silke Dettmers and Helen Maurer, three artists employing the language of what one could call the ‘contemporary surreal’ (‘The Wrong End of the Telescope’, Three Colts Gallery, London). The history and concept of the Wunderkammer is critical for the argument pursued in this article, which calls for the re-instatement of ‘wonder’ and the idea of ‘the marvellous’. These are vital ingredients for visual arts practice but are unacknowledged in today's art academies. It takes on board the current debate of ‘visual arts practice as research’ and extends the argument of authors such as Sullivan (Art Practice as Research, 2005) and Barone, by demonstrating conventional academic definitions of ‘knowledge’ and artistic practice to be irreconcilable.

Written by: Silke Dettmers

Other articles in: JVAP Volume 7 Issue 1, Journal of Visual Art Practice