Is exhibition-making an activity which an art historical change agenda can be enacted? Discuss, with reference to a particular exhibition.

Exhibition-making can be a powerful tool through which an art historical change agenda can be enacted. Exhibitions have the potential to shape narratives, challenge existing paradigms, and introduce new perspectives to the public. This essay will demonstrate this through two examples, “Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection” and “Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom” which was an exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. These exhibitions both played a significant role in enacting an art historical change agenda as they shaped and changed cultural discourse, questioning what should be considered art and to what extent is it to install works with shock factors.

“Sensation” took place in 1997 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London and featured works by a group of emerging British artists, including Damien Hirst, Tracy Emin, and Chris Ofili. The exhibition was curated by Norman Rosenthal and was funded by Charles Saatchi. It aimed to showcase the diversity and audacity of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who were challenging traditional artistic conventions at the time.  “Sensation” brought these works to a mainstream audience, forcing viewers to confront and reconsider their preconceived ideas about what art could be. With over 300,000 visitors’, the exhibition sparked intense debate about the nature of contemporary art, the role of institutions and the boundaries of artistic expressions. Works such as Marcus Harvey’s image of a serial killer Myra Hindley made up of hundreds of copies of children’s handprints, sparked protests and upset among society.  The fact that audacious works such as this were allowed to be exhibited in a museum space, opened the horizons for what constituted as contemporary art. This discourse not only influenced public opinion but also shaped the directions of art criticism and scholarship. Okwui Enwezor ‘s notion “curating within the canon and curating within culture” reinforces the changing idea of the canon within the exhibition space. Enwezor believes it is necessary to create within culture, in doing this you allow for a new space and new actions to take place. The Royal Academy of Arts, a prestigious institution, played a crucial role in legitimating the YBAs and their unconventional works. The fact that such an established institution housed the exhibition challenged the traditional divide between avant-garde and mainstream art. The combined with the commercial success of the artists featured in “Sensation” signalled a shift on the art market. The exhibition demonstrated that contemporary and often controversial art could be commercially viable, challenging established market norms. Therefore “Sensation” exemplified how exhibition making can serve as a catalyst for art historical change. By providing a platform for challenging and unconventional works, exhibitions have the potential to reshape the trajectory of art history and contribute to a broader cultural shift.

Within the “Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom” exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, there was Emmitt Till’s open casket. It is clear here that through the exhibition making and decision to have an open casket viewing that an art historical agenda can be enacted. The decisions to have an open casket was done to recreate the funeral of Emmitt till. This combined with the fact that no photography was allowed inside the museum is said to force visitors to be present. Moreover, the casket was placed in such a height that viewers had to stand on their tiptoes in order to see the picture of Emmitt Till’s face inside the casket. This all required the viewer to take part in a process, much similar to the one of family members who would have attended the funeral. It can be said that the exhibition had the intention of recreating a space where you could mourne for Till, acting as a visceral reminder of the events that took place in Chicago August 1955. Like Okwui Enwezor argues, that allow curators have an agenda and the exhibition enables that agenda to take place. Here is it clear that the exhibition of Emmitt Till has enabled an agenda to take place. An agenda to attempt to make viewers uncomfortable enough for them to understand the struggle that African American people have been through.

To conclude exhibition – making is an activity which can impart an agenda which can lead to art historical change. As Okwui Enwezor illustrates that exhibitions are vessels which convey narratives that are motivated by certain agendas. Within the making of “Sensation” the collating of different works of art where the only correlating aspect was the shock factor was designed to be controversial, provocative and send a rift through the canon of art history and what was considered art. Within the “Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom” exhibition, the role of Emmitt Tills’ open casket, also portrays an element of shock and discomfort. This not only attempt to replicate the funeral and provide a visceral experience for the viewers, but this also pushes the boundaries as to what is acceptable within an exhibition space, and whether this replication of a mourning should be open to anyone.