Art Review's Power 100: A Curator's Reflection on Influence and Rankings
The writer, who serves as both a curator and educator, shares his thoughts on being placed 13th in the 2006 Power 100 list by Art Review, a decline from his previous position in the top 10 at MoMA. He reminisces about a charity dinner where the premature exit of another honoree marked the decline of noblesse oblige in the art scene. He reflects on the concept of power, noting that the artists he admires are unlikely to be recognized alongside prominent figures such as Nauman, Huyghe, and Koons. Takashi Murakami fell from 28th to 98th. The writer contends that power is held by full-time professionals like collectors and dealers, with only three educators making the list, and considers Duchamp's exchange of art for chess.
Key facts
- Art Review's 2006 Power 100 list published in London.
- Author ranked 13th, previously in top 10 at MoMA, then dropped 70 places.
- Artists on list: Nauman, Huyghe, Gober, Richter, Koons, Hirst, Prince, Gursky, Kelley, Wall, Hirschhorn, Cai Guo-Qiang, Serra.
- Serra was 13th the previous year.
- François Pinault was number 1 in 2006.
- Takashi Murakami dropped from 28th to 98th.
- Only three educators on list: Daniel Birnbaum, Okwui Enwezor, author.
- Author is organizing the Venice Biennale.
- Charity dinner incident: attendee left early due to long speeches.
- Power in art world held by collectors, dealers, auctioneers, museum directors.
- Artists outside list often have limited output, disdain for socializing, lack of communicable discourse.
- Duchamp reference: trading art for chess.
Entities
Artists
- Bruce Nauman
- Pierre Huyghe
- Robert Gober
- Gerhard Richter
- Jeff Koons
- Damien Hirst
- Richard Prince
- Andreas Gursky
- Mike Kelley
- Jeff Wall
- Thomas Hirschhorn
- Cai Guo-Qiang
- Richard Serra
- Takashi Murakami
- Marcel Duchamp
Institutions
- Art Review
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- Venice Biennale
Locations
- New York
- London
- Venice
Sources
- artpress —