Manifesta Journal #7: The Grammar Of The Exhibition

The Grammar of the Exhibition Manifesta Journal’s new series on contemporary curatorship starts with an inquiry into the fundamental aspects of curating - namely the grammar of the exhibition. In this context, grammar can be defined as the linguistics and vocabulary of curating, and can also be considered an accepted methodology to help interpret and define the ideas, decisions and actions of the curator. Subdivided in various sections, a differentiated group of authors has been invited to contribute to MJ#.

Within the section Positions, Anselm Franke investigates the grammar of exhibitions under the conditions of the society of control. Within Discourse, Mieke Bal undertakes an analysis of the curatorial syntax by comparing the exhibitions 2MOVE (Belfast, Oslo, etc. 2007-2008) and Partners (Munich, 2002-2003). Mary Anne Staniszewski traces the grammar of exhibitions at the New York art institution Exit Art by making a close reading of their long-term program in the section Studies, while Cathleen Chaffee focuses on Marcel Broodthaers and his Musee d’Art Moderne exhibitions.

Documents includes RoseLee Goldberg's seminal text Space as Praxis (1975), which is republished as an important document on the definition of space in artistic and curatorial practices.

MJ#7 includes contributions by: Zeigam Azizov, Mieke Bal, Cathleen Chaffee, Anselm Franke, RoseLee Goldberg, Milena Hoegsberg, Bartomeu Marí, Isabel Tejeda Martín, Peter Osborne, Filipa Ramos, Marco Scotini, Mary Anne Staniszewski, Markéta Stará.