Great interest in art criticism

Lori Waxman visited Stavanger Monday 16 - Wednesday 18 March 

In collaboration with Sølvberget and Stavanger Aftenblad, and with support from Stavanger municipality, we invited Lori Waxman to Stavanger to carry out her performance “60 wrd/min art critic.”

Artists from Stavanger were invited to sign up for Waxman’s performance by writing directly to her. Waxman selected the 32 artists by lottery, and she had not conducted any prior research into Stavanger’s art and cultural scene, nor into the artists she would be writing about. Lori Waxman was intereviewed by Contemporary Art Stavanger prior to the performance. 
 

Well attended performance

Many people stopped by the former gallery at Sølvberget over the course of those days. Visitors sat down and followed Lori Waxman at work. She studied the pieces the artists had brought with them before sitting down to write.

Those of us in the room could observe the process—watching as she looked up words and concepts and seeing the text take shape. At times, she paused and addressed the artists directly. In total, 225 people visited the performance over the three days. 

Stavanger Aftenblad interviewed Lori Waxman and Trond Borgen

Stavanger Aftenblad was the publishing partner for the performance. In addition to publishing all the critiques online, they also published a selection of nine performances in the print edition on Saturday, March 21. On the same day, they also published an interview with the established art critic Trond Borgen in conversation with Lori Waxman. In the interview, both critics pointed out that art criticism today is under pressure, and the risk of it disappearing.

“It is important that people discuss art. That they go and see, read, and discuss. If they disagree, they should be able to say so publicly. We have had many such discussions, and I have sparked a great deal of debate in Stavanger,” said Borgen.

Performance receives art criticism

The performance with Lori Waxman was organized to highlight the importance of art criticism within the art field. Artists create art in order to show it, but in order to exhibit their work, they often need to have a review to refer to. For this reason, Waxman has on several occasions traveled to different places in the U.S. and Europe to meet numerous artists and write critiques for them.

When Stavanger Kunstmuseum and Sølvberget invited Lori Waxman to Stavanger, we were of course pleased that Stavanger Aftenblad agreed to be the publishing partner, but we also hoped that the project would generate criticism and reflection from others.

Therefore, it was interesting to read Mona Mørk’s review in Dag og Tid, which was published on March 19. The museum also responded to Mona’s critique in a piece published on March 26.

Here is a short excerpt from the conclusion of Mona Mørk’s review:

“Cultural criticism cannot operate according to a principle where everyone is satisfied. I know literary critics who experience that major publishers in this country regularly call their editors to say how incompetent the critic is—if the review is lukewarm. Everything is fine as long as the review is positive. One might be reminded of dog training.

The time of the critic as an authoritarian judge of taste may soon be over, but this cannot be the alternative. There must be room for having an opinion and strong arguments that spark interesting discussions. That cannot be done in 25 minutes.”

And a short excerpt from the response by Hanne Beate Ueland and Helga Nyman:

“We have never claimed that Stavanger lacks skilled art critics or writers, but we do not believe that they are threatened by the presence of more voices. Art criticism lacks column space and connection with a broad readership, and suffers from being confined to specialized journals. We do not believe it is up to art critics alone to address this. Most of them are also freelancers with vulnerable working conditions.

Stavanger Kunstmuseum and Sølvberget library and cultural centre are institutions with the opportunities and resources to make a difference—both for the conditions of public discourse on art and for the 32 artists whose work was reviewed by Lori Waxman. We will continue to do this, and we will do it in a format we know best: through the art itself.”