Charlotte Klonk:
"In this talk, I will consider German visual history and theory and ask if the debate provides a distinct set of questions that distinguishes it from other methods in art history. Using the reception of J.M.W. Turner's work in the 1970s as a foil, I will ponder the possibility of a new approach that departs from dominant interpretations of the second half of the twentieth century such as iconology and social art history."
Charlotte Klonk establishes a link between the consumerism of the 1950s and the rise of the white cube as spearheaded by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She concludes that the white cube was elected as the preferred exhibition interior because it was seen as the ideal environment to educate the tastes of its visitors. A skill – as it was argued by MoMA's founding director – that could then be put to use in the budding consumer society of the time. Klonk thus points out that there is a nexus between art viewing and consumerism, one that has been actively supported by the white cube formula. If we bring this conclusion into the present, following Klonk, we might ask: how does the exhibition experience relate to the choreography of desire that is created in today's attention economy? What role does the exhibition space and the way it is fashioned play in light of the current visual economy, as one that is increasingly characterised by online platforms and forms of consumerism in which images play an ever more important part?
This lecture is organised and supported by the Art History Department of the UvA to thank temporary staff leaving at the end of this academic year, as well as by the Amsterdam School for Heritage, Memory and Material Culture, in order to support methodological discussion within its community.
Charlotte Klonk will contribute to a
conference on colour in exhibition spaces at the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, the following day.
The lecture at the UvA is free and can be attended without registering.
Any questions can be directed to:
c.m.lermhayes@uva.nl
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