“…Bourriaud does not regard relational aesthetics to be simply a theory of interactive art. He considers it to be a means of locating contemporary practice within the culture at large…”
(Clare Bishop, “Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics”(October, Vol. 110, Autumn 2004 p54)

In “Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics,” by Clare Bishop, there was an artwork mentioned called “Cinema Liberte” (1999) by Rikrit Tiravanija that piqued my interest. Bishop suggests that local audiences nominated their favourite films, and then the films were screened outdoors at the intersection of two streets in Glasgow. In my research I found out about a past exhibiton titled, theanyspacewhatever, at the Guggenheim Museum in New York (Oct 2008 – Jan 2009). According to the official press release, “For these artists, an exhibition can comprise a film, a novel, a shared meal, a social space, a performance, or a journey.” The exhibition featured works by Angela Bulloch, Maurizio Cattelan, Liam Gillick, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Douglas Gordon, Carsten Höller, Pierre Huyghe, Jorge Pardo, Philippe Parreno, Rirkrit Tiravanija, in a culmination of diverse practices linked through an interest in social and political issues.

In this exhibition, a collaborative work by Rikrit Tiravanija and Douglas Gordon was shown, titled “Cinéma Liberté/Bar Lounge” (1996). Films that had been banned for political reasons were shown, including Fritz Lang’s Scarlet Street (1945). Linked to Relational Aesthetics, this work created a sense of community among the participants. By creating a coffee bar, and by providing bean bag chairs, Tiravanija and Gordon created a social environment.