Group exhibition
16 July–2 October 2011
Opening: Friday 15 July, 6–9pm
de Appel Boys’ School
Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat 59
Amsterdam
Curator: Ann Demeester
Why should I value conceptual art? As a viewer, can I simply decide for myself what I consider to be art and what I reject as nonsense or pseudo-intellectual hogwash? What do I have to know before I can make these sorts of value judgements? To what extent are the appreciation and production of art a form of specialist knowledge? Can I see the difference between amateur art and professional art? Can anyone do anything?
We live in a world in which the boundaries between expertise and amateurism become increasingly vague and transparent. On the one hand web 2.0 foregrounds user-generated content and anyone seems to be able to make a contribution to the production of art and knowledge using channels such as Youtube and Wikipedia. On the other hand, according to the journalist Koen Haegens, we paradoxically live in a “casting society” in which it is important to demonstrate that you can achieve a particular level of excellence—just think of the popularity of programmes such as “So you think you can dance,” “America’s Next Top Model,” but also “The Apprentice”.
Generally speaking, citizens have become more articulate and worldly wise than forty years ago. They want to participate and make their own choices, rather than having a blind trust in the opinions and ideas of authoritative people or institutions. The expert and the specialist, like the (public) intellectual, have become minority positions. This has implications for various areas of expertise, and certainly also for the way in which West European society and the media view art and artists today, as becomes painfully obvious in the Netherlands today.
Artists such as Joseph Beuys and Robert Filliou caused a stir in the 1970s with their “erweiterde Kunstbegriff.” Beuys maintained that “everyone was an artist”, and in the context of his project “La Republique Geniale” (Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1971) Filliou made a number of conflicting statements about the genius that everyone has. In 2011 we see the relationship between concepts such as genius and talent, art and creativity, knowledge and expertise in a different way. On the basis of a broad range of contemporary and historical art practices, this exhibition explores in an associative way what the concepts of “hobbyist” and “expert,” “layman and specialist,” “genius and talent” mean today from the perspective of contemporary art.
The title of this exhibition was inspired by the work of the French artist Robert Filliou, who referred to himself as a “Genius without Talent.”
Events in the context of the exhibition:
- On occasion of the exhibition a blog is created where you can post your remarks and responses related to the show see www.iedereenkanalles.blogspot.com
- A series of workshops and lectures will be organized in the context of the exhibition in September. For further information follow the link to www.deappel.nl from 15 July.
Reservations: reservation@deappel.nl
de Appel arts centre
Exhibition Venue:
de Appel Boys’ School
Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat 59, Amsterdam
Opening Hours: Tue-Sun from 11–6pm
Correspondence address:
de Appel Office
Post Box 10764
1001 ET Amsterdam
the Netherlands
t +3120 6255651
e info@deappel.nl
www.deappel.nl
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For press inquiries and further information please contact
Samga Nguyen via marketing@deappel.nl or +31 (0)20-6255651
*Image above:
Courtesy of the Estate of Sylvia Sleigh & Freymond-Guth Fine Arts Ltd.
