A Study Of Nicolas Bourriaud’s Curatorial Concepts(1996-2019)

In the mid-1990 s,Nicolas Bourriaud put forward the artistic concept of “relational aesthetics” in the “Traffic” exhibition,trying to establish an effective discourse mechanism for contemporary art which was lacking in theory.As one of the few theoretical attempts in the 1990 s,“relational aesthetics” was a manifestation of Bourriaud’s grasp and summary of artistic phenomena in the 1990 s.Bourriaud regarded this as a curatorial concept in the 1990 s.At the beginning of the twenty-first century,the human history entered a new era,and people were widely engaged in the upsurge of globalization.In this context,he put forward the concept of “altermodern”,and tried to explore the modernity in the era of globalization,filling the gap since the end of postmodernism.Later,Bourriaud borrowed the concept of “anthropocene” from science as his new curatorial concept to explore the relationship between human and non-human.This thesis aims to study the concepts of curation between Bourriaud’s “Traffic” exhibition in 1996 and the Istanbul Biennale in 2019.According to the development in curatorial concept,Bourriaud’s curatorial practice and experience over those two decades were covered in three stages to explore the logical changes therein.The thesis is divided into four chapters.The first chapter presents the curatorial concept of “relational aesthetics”,which is mainly based on the analysis of two exhibitions—the “Traffic” exhibition,and the “ Contact: Relational Art from 1990 to the Present” exhibition—and their participating artists.The curatorial concept of “relational aesthetics” is grasped through the two aspects of “relational aesthetics” and its practical pedigree,as well as “postproduction” as a relational tool.The second chapter focuses on the curatorial concept of “altermodern”,which starts from the analysis of the 4th Tate Triennial and its participating artists,and comes to the curatorial concept of “altermodern”.It analyzes the curatorial concept of “altermodern” through the discussion of “modernity” in the age of globalization and the cultural leap under “altermodern”.The third chapter is about the concept of “anthropocene”,which starts from the analysis of the 9th Taipei Biennale,the 16 th Istanbul Biennale and their participating artists.This part comes to the concept of “anthropocene”,which is further analyzed through the interpretation of “the great acceleration” and “the seventh continent”.The fourth chapter centers on a review of Bourriaud’s concept of curation,mainly from perspectives of its characteristics and its criticism and reflection.In the study of Bourriaud’s curatorial concepts,the thesis finds its logical development,that is,from “relational aesthetics” to “altermodern” and then to “anthropocene”,shifting focus from “interpersonal relationship” advocated in “relational aesthetics” to culture and identity in “altermodern” in the context of globalization,and then to human and non-human relationship explored in “anthropocene”.In spite of weaknesses in his views such as hollowness,broadness,etc.,he has always been at the forefront of defining the latest trends in contemporary art.The change in Bourriaud’s curatorial concepts is the result of his continuous observation and reflection in combination with the background of the times.