Intellect

Authors:  Riikka Haapalainen 
DOI: 10.1386/jvap.5.3.153_1

Keywords
Contemporary art, Maffesoli, situational aesthetics, museums, Pistoletto

Abstract
In this paper I analyse some examples from contemporary art and describe the role of museums as a situational media, through which a special kind of sociality is produced. In this context, I want to draw attention to the so-called ‘new institutionalism’, which seems to be the current denominator among different fields within the art world (including both art institutions and contemporary artists). New institutionalism refers to a recent resurgence of interest in the influence of art institutions on the production and reception of art. It generally understands art in terms of the ideas of openness, networking and process. Consequently, the reception of art should not be perceived only as a private contemplation by an individual, but must be understood also as a form of social, collective experience. According to French sociologist Michel Maffesoli, art is more and more experienced and interpreted collectively. It is experienced in a temporal and social process, which is similar to urban everyday experience. It is based on random events and occasional encounters, which in their own logic reinforce a sense of togetherness and social collectivity. This creates an economy which is, in a specific sense, essentially un-productive. Neither in the example of the open discussion in the Stockholm gallery about an incident implicating Israel's ambassador to Sweden, nor in the case of the events of the Art Project by the Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto does art aim for a specific end product (exhibition, artwork, cultural programme, correct interpretation, etc.). The implication is that art practice should be more about creating situations, encounters and interactions, which are in a constant state of process, than about creating art objects. This makes everything in and around the art equally relevant and important. In this way, art practice offers to society a plurality of values and promotes the enjoyment of this plurality, i.e. the mobility and choice between different, parallel truths.