Mieke Bal

Exactly what I was looking for: a framework to use while reading other texts so that I can pick and choose what tools I want to use for creating my own work. Does not ignore structuralism but FREQUENTLY (obsessively?) cautions strict adherence to it. (I personally believe such cautioning is valid.) Explains the "rules" and how to break them. Thoughtfully introduces other structuralist's work as well, and relates how it contrasts with this one.

Lots of valuable information about focalization and external/character-bound narrators in the 'Story' section of the book (pretty much 1 of the 3 sections) that was very helpful and clearly explained. Application to visual art that was very thorough but in a constructive way. Some parts of the 'Fabula' section seemed either rushed through or redundant from the 'Story' section. Too many disclaimers about the potential orthodoxy of structuralism throughout the book. Having said that, I've read show more this twice. show less

The most comprehensive look to date at the artistic practice of Ydessa Hendeles, legendary art collector and pioneer of curating, abundantly illustrated with pictures of two of her exhibitions.

Once a legendary collector of contemporary art, Ydessa Hendeles then became one of the pioneers of curating as an artistic practice. Building upon her concept of an exhibition as a "curatorial composition," she developed a radical approach to art-making. In this book, Ernst van Alphen and Mieke Bal show more explore Hendeles's art practice through in-depth analyses of her exhibitions, "The Milliner's Daughter" in Toronto (2017) and "Death to Pigs" in Vienna (2018). The authors make a compelling argument that these "retrospective shows" were each multilayered site-responsive artworks, in and of themselves, that presented parallel worlds composed of art objects and artifacts. The most comprehensive look to date at Hendeles's innovative art practice.

Ydessa Hendeles is a pioneering exponent of curating as a creative artistic practice. Blurring the borders between collector, curator and artist, she has fashioned her own distinctive space in the contemporary art world.

Beginning in the early 1990s, Hendeles began to incorporate her own artistic projects into her exhibition programme at the Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation in Toronto and continued to do so until the gallery closed in 2012, after 25 years and the passing of her mother. Hendeles’ psychologically charged works have been exhibited at: New Museum, New York (2016); Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel (2016); Kunsthaus Hamburg, Germany (2016); Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (2015); Konig Galerie, Berlin (2012); Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York (2011); Marburger Kunstverein, Marburg, Germany (2010); Gwangju Biennale, South Korea (2010); National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (2004); and Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany (2003). Hendeles is represented by Barbara Edwards Contemporary, Toronto, where her recent work, Death to Pigs, was exhibited in 2016. She now divides her time between studios in Toronto and New York. show less

Some useful and interesting ideas here, but a little disappointing to a Caravaggio fan... I get the sense that she chose Caravaggio because he's popular, and she felt using a specific artist would focus her argument. It kind of worked, but I think she could have chosen basically any well-known artist to build the book around, and her arguments would not have changed much.

https://donut-donut.dreamwidth.org/908144.html