Catherine David and the documenta X team have incorporated a
rich array of sites into the materiality of the dX program, and have
worked tirelessly to position these sites as constitutive of the
multiplicitous space of contemporary aesthetic interventions
(formerly "installations"). I am referring to the book and related
publication sites; the 100 Days/100 Guests program and its
channels of distribution; the theater and film programs; the
Internet space with its projects and forums; and other media
channels (television, radio, etc.). I enjoy discussing these sites,
the ways in which they are activated by individuals and groups,
the ways in which they are embedded in various contexts and
networks, and the ways in which their contents are interwoven
into the physical and representational space of Kassel. They
present a redefinition of the contemporary space of exhibition.
The artistic practices or aesthetic interventions at the dX are
situated in terms of a contemporary sense of the political and its
problematics of representation. They speak in a very different
way than traditional art and they challenge its conventions. They
are very precise insertions into a social and significatory context
that is being radically altered by and through the effects of
globalization. They articulate, illuminate, and encode
contemporary struggles for voice, materialization, and control
within an increasingly volatile landscape. Their power is marked
by the realization of the enormity and gravity of the situation. The
stakes are high. Perhaps that realization is the best thing that one
can come away with here. These issues "matter"--they are
materializing in every sense.
Since it seems this forum is beginning with the Internet space of dX,
I will offer a few comments about that. I was thrilled to see that
the Internet projects were presented equally with the traditional
media in the Short Guide and on the parcours map. Since online
projects are often marginalized as some sort of adjunct to the
"real" exhibition space, this is an important step. As several
people have mentioned their concerns regarding the physical
presentation of these projects in the documenta-Halle, it might be
interesting to consider the issues raised by this presentation.
What is it saying or proposing? How does it function within the
larger discursive and structural space of dX? Where does it fail?
How can its propositions be acted upon in future presentations?
It would be particularly interesting to know how the design was
developed, and the role that Franz West and Heimo Zobernig
played. The issue of how this space, as situated next to the cafe,
the bookstore, and the auditorium, functions in relation to these
spaces, how one activates the web projects, how one's
awareness is choreographed (by limiting links, situating monitors,
etc.), the allusions to the production space of the office worker,
and so on.