Institutional Critique

In his essay 'institutions, critique, and institutional critique', Alexander Alberro argues that while many of the critiques made by artists against the art institution in the 1960s and 1970s were rigorous in presenting the discrepancy between the myths perpetuated by the museum and the economic and social realities that actually structure it, such critiques ultimately advocated for the continuing existence of such institutions. Alberro explains that by demanding that such institutions 'straighten up' and end such discrepancies, the artists in question thus argue for instatement of the museum ideal. Mel Ramsden describes such institutional critiques as ameliorative, in that they call for specific changes in the institution of art but affirm its basic underlying structure as one that is worth repositioning. For Alberro, the works of artist Louise Lawler that address the making, showing, selling, and viewing of art as such practices exist within the art institution, do so with the hope that by making evident the institutional boundaries that govern such practices, the 'initial promise' of the institution may be regained.

Pollock and Tureen, Arranged by Mr. and Mrs. Burton Tremaine, Connecticut, 1984

Louise Lawler Silver dye bleach print