CATE2008 Social Relations and Critical Spaces

In 1971, Conceptual artist Gordon Matta-Clark opened Food, a restaurant run by artists, where cooking and dining become a means of artistic expression and debate. Twenty years later, Rirkrit Tiravanija's work Untitled (Free) took the form of a Thai meal cooked by the artist in the gallery for its patrons. Taking its cue form works such as these, this elective explores expanded models of contemporary art practice and new forms of institutional and social critique. Drawing on the legacies of Situationism and Conceptual Art, it addresses the current dynamics of authorship (such as collaboration and artist collectives), spectatorship, and the politics of space.