Harald Szeemann and the Curator-Artist Myth at Lyon Biennale

Harald Szeemann, the influential curator who shaped the myth of the curator-as-artist, is directing the 1997 Lyon Biennale titled 'L'Autre'. In conjunction with the event, art press commissioned Xavier Douroux and Yves Aupetitallot to assess the apparent stabilization and institutionalization of the curator-artist approach. Szeemann, known for championing obsession and being a severe critic, asserts his desire to blend subversion with stabilization and urges artists to return to the museum. His career includes landmark exhibitions such as 'Peintres Poètes / Poètes Peintres' (1957), 'When Attitudes Become Form' (1969), Documenta 5 (1972), 'Illusion, Emotion, Reality', and 'The Seventh Art in Search of the Other Six' (1995-1996).