Claire Doherty

Curating Context describes a field where the curatorial practice is extended beyond curating exhibitions into working with entire contexts. It articulates the why and how of curating art projects that gain their meaning in relation to a surrounding context, or which need a specific structure in order to play out. In this practice, curatorial considerations are interwoven with the production, and the intentions of artists and curators lead the way rather than institutional structures. The texts and conversations in this book reflect on how these curatorial methodologies not only situate works in different places, but also transfer curatorial methods into other fields, such as the contexts of law, urban development, and constructions of the civic. This exciting curatorial approach where each project sets new demands, requires very specific skills rarely taught in curatorial programs. Curating Context is an attempt to share a sustained conversation among practitioners in the field.

The face of public art is changing. In recent years, a new generation of artists has rejected the monumental scale and mass appeal of conventional public sculpture, instead favoring unconventional forms that disrupt rather than embellish a particular location. Public Art (Now) is the first survey of the most influential forms of the past decade that are redefining the practice of public art today. Some 40 key projects from around the world are highlighted, with detailed descriptions and installation and process shots. Interviews and quotes from practitioners, commissioners and commentators reveal the context for each project, while an introduction sets out the conceptual, practical and ethical issues raised by the work. This dynamic combination of projects, places and people is both a must-have reference book for art-world specialists and an accessible introduction to the subject. Among the featured artists are Mike Kelley, Francis Alÿs, Superflex, Paul Chan, Susan Philipsz and Theaster Gates.

Part of the acclaimed 'Documents of Contemporary Art' series of anthologies. A unique set of conditions produced in both space and time and ranging across material, social, political and economic relations, Situation is now a key concept in 21st-century art. This anthology traces its evolution from the 1960s emergence of site-specific art to its divergent implications in the global era. Among the topics surveyed are the limits of site; the role of the artist as ethnographer or fieldworker; the relation between action and public space; the meaning of place and locality; and the crucial role of the curator in new situation-specific art. Artists surveyed include: Vito Acconci, Allora & Calzadilla, Francis Alys, Carl Andre, Artist Placement Group, Michael Asher, Amy Balkin, Ursula Biemann, Bik Van der Pol, Daniel Buren, Victor Burgin, Janet Cardiff, Center for Land Use Interpretation, Adam Chodzko, Tacita Dean, Elmgreen & Dragset, Andrea Fraser, Hamish Fulton, Dan Graham, Liam Gillick, Renée Green, Group Material, Douglas Huebler, Bethan Huws, Pierre Huyghe, Robert Irwin, Emily Jacir, Ilya Kabakov, Július Koller, Langlands & Bell, Ligna, Richard Long, Gordon Matta-Clark, Cildo Meireles, Jonathan Monk, Robert Morris, Gabriel Orozco, Adrian Piper, Walid Ra’ad, Raqs Media Collective, Paul Rooney, Martha Rosler, Richard Serra, Situationist International, Tony Smith, Robert Smithson, Vivan Sundaram, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Lawrence Weiner, Rachel Whiteread, Krzysztof Wodiczko and Qiu Zhijie. Writers include: Arjun Appadurai, Hannah Arendt, Marc Augé, Wim Beeren, Josephine Berry Slater, Daniel Birnbaum, Ava Bromberg, Markus Brüderlin, Susan Buck-Morss, Jon Bywater, Michel de Certeau, Douglas Crimp, Gilles Deleuze, T. J. Demos, Rosalyn Deutsche, Charles Esche, Graeme Evans, Patricia Falguières, Hal Foster, Hou Hanru, Mark Hutchinson, Mary Jane Jacob, Vasif Kortun, Hari Kunzru, Miwon Kwon, Lu Jie, George E. Marcus, Doreen Massey, James Meyer, Ivo Mesquita, Brian O’Doherty, Craig Owens, Jane Rendell, Simon Sheikh, Jan Verwoert and Peter Weibel