Apr
12
“…the worldwide proliferation and scattering of biennials is often invoked as a prime example of the ‘globalization of art’: the planetary scale of art’s global reach not only means that it has become impossible to ‘see everything’ (always an impossibility in the first place, of course), but also that there is *simply more art in yet more different places too.* This in turn means that, along with a sheer increase in quantities and mass, today’s art production has become much more of a volatile business, predicated on the swift and steady trafficking of goods (art). The globalization of art and the relentless expansion of the ‘art system’ entail a dramatically heightened *mobility*, meaning that art travels (or *has* to travel) much faster than ever before, and that, at least in theory, it can travel to the most remote and ‘virginal’ corners of the world. Art is everywhere—in droves, by the hundreds of thousands. And what is more, it *goes* everywhere, by any means necessary, in whatever guise works best for that purpose—some of these guises highly dependent on the latest of transportation technologies, others forever defined by the unalterable laws of ancient techniques.”
Dieter Roelstraete, “Art Books Now: 7 Theses (From an Accomplice’s Point of View)”. Dot Dot Dot 12, Summer 2006. http://www.dot-dot-dot.us/index.html?id=16
