Christian Thompson - 'Art as a Verb' Part of Melbourne Festival 2014
Christian Thompson,
Desert Slippers,
2006
34 secs,
Video
Art as a Verb
3 October – 16 December 2014
Presented by MUMA in association with Melbourne Festival
Opening function: Saturday 4 October 2014, 3-5pm
Curatorium: Charlotte Day, Francis E. Parker and Patrice Sharkey
Artists: Marina Abramović, Vito Acconci, Bas Jan Ader, Paweł Althamer & Artur Żmijewski, Francis Alÿs, Billy Apple, John Baldessari, Brown Council, Catherine or Kate, Clark Beaumont, Martin Creed, DAMP, John Davis, George Egerton-Warburton, Peter Fischli & David Weiss, Emily Floyd, Ceal Floyer, Heath Franco, Alicia Frankovich, Andrea Fraser, Ryan Gander, Agatha Gothe-Snape, Matthew Griffin, Bianca Hester, Hi Red Center, Christopher L G Hill, Tehching Hsieh, Tim Johnson, Allan Kaprow, Peter Kennedy, Sister Mary Corita Kent, Anastasia Klose, Laresa Kosloff, Jiří Kovanda, George Kuchar, George Maciunas, Basim Magdy, Paul McCarthy, David McDiarmid, Ian Milliss, Kate Mitchell, Bruce Nauman, Rose Nolan, Claes Oldenburg, Yoko Ono, Ariel Orozco, Deborah Ostrow, Mike Parr, Campbell Patterson, Kenny Pittock, Stuart Ringholt, Sarah Rodigari, Robert Rooney, Martha Rosler, Eva Rothschild, Tony Schwensen, Jill Scott, Kateřina Šedá, Christian Thompson, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Gabrielle de Vietri and Franz West
Art as a Verb is a major thematic exhibition that takes as its departure point the concept of art as action, both inside the gallery and beyond. Drawing upon the unbridled energy and anarchy of fluxus and happenings, and looking back to a moment when art dematerialised, Art as a Verb presents a range of projects from the 1960s to today that challenge the traditional role of the artist and the site of the museum. What constitutes the work of an artist? How do the varying roles of an artist (as instigator, facilitator, teacher, performer, consumer or visionary) fit within broader society? And how does the museum support art forms that function beyond the art object? Bringing together artworks from a wide range of Australian and international practitioners, Art as a Verb will feature documentation of actions and performances, situational pieces, instructional works, manifestoes and interactive props.