The Contestation of the European Nation-state by curators and artists participating in La Biennale di Venezia and documenta.

The dissertation examines the evolution of two prominent international biennale exhibitions, La Biennale di Venezia and documenta, investigating the historical foundations of these biennales and their evolving political significance in relation to the European nation-state. The dissertation then investigates five iterations of these biennales between 1999 to 2017 curated by Harald Szeemann, Okwui Enwezor, and the curatorial team led by Adam Szymczyk, dissecting how these influential figures sought to redefine the artistic and political trajectories of the biennales. Additionally, individual artworks are discussed, as contributors to the overall curatorial projects, recognizing their role as carriers of knowledge and political tools within the contemporary art biennales. Theoretical frameworks are employed from diverse disciplines, emphasizing the intersection of contemporary art and geographic scholarship within the context of critiques of the nation-state. Methodologically, it combines geographic, art historical, decolonial, and postcolonial approaches to analyze the institutional, financial, political, and cultural challenges faced by curators in realizing their visions. Chapters are organized chronologically, providing an overview of the founding of La Biennale di Venezia and documenta, followed by in-depth examinations of specific curatorial interventions. The exploration goes beyond artistic considerations, delving into the political, cultural, and economic factors inherent in these events, while also highlighting the divergent objectives of artists and curators. The dissertation incorporates Indigenous perspectives, particularly in documenta 14, which centred Indigenous art practices within a critique of the European nation-state. It is argued that while curators aimed to challenge the status quo, the success of their endeavors was hindered by a web of political, cultural, and economic factors ingrained in biennale structures. Ultimately, it was select individual artworks that were able to disrupt narratives of the European nation-state and offer examples of diverse understandings of belonging and community. This dissertation contributes to the understanding of contemporary art biennales as complex, multi-scalar spatial events with deep political implications, moving beyond their aesthetic dimensions to recognize their role in shaping and challenging established norms of the European nation-state.

Department dc:contributor.department

Geography

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• MacGregor, Gwen Elizabeth

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Gilbert, Emily

• biennales
• contemporary art
• decolonial
• documenta
• postcolonial
• Venice biennale

Statement dc:rights

• Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1807/140204

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/140204