The Arbiters

Abstract

Art world institutions are premised on the fallacious notion that they are not only custodians ofculture but also its arbiters. The Venn diagram of artists’ priorities with those of institutionsshows few logical relations. It is therefore not uncommon to see a critical response from thosewho find themselves intermittently on the inside of the art world’s shifting, invisible walls. Some,like Michael Rakowitz, find themselves accepted into the ranks of a survey exhibition only todepart in protest; others, like Emily Johnson, write open letters exposing their experienceswith institutions; and others, like Andrea Fraser, whose work in institutional critique far exceedsthis sentence, contribute critical reflections about the very institutions in which the reflectionsare situated. Still, others redistribute the attention they receive to those with whom they sharepriorities.