ARCHIVE:

Maria Anwander 
Hail to the Thief
PV 26/09 4-6pm
 
26/09 - 18/10/2009
CV

Starting her own ‘private collection’ in 2004 by illegally acquiring 
objects, Maria Anwander herself became part of a world-wide culture 
of ownership. Now Anwander’s collection consists of over 60 acquired 
works of art all sourced from some of the highest reaches: private 
galleries, institutions and biennales.

Many of Anwander's ideas and works involve the ‘unincluded’ and the 
'overlooked'. She erases and displaces codes and systems in order to 
highlight their original meaning and purpose. In this case, taking 
a souvenir of a system, which support some of the most influential 
artists on her own artistic practice.
Perhaps the intention of this theft was simply to articulate her 
devotion to these inspirations; or perhaps to challenge and contest 
the culture of ownership, which institutions and viewer alike seem 
to delight in. This gesture of theft could be perceived as a metaphor 
to highlight the inherent politics of representation, status quo and 
ownership of art itself.

After a few visits to an art institution we as an audience, become 
more aware, and potentially intrigued with the phenomena of other 
visitors. We as visitors are dramatically influenced by the authority 
of the curatorial card. Without even giving ourselves a chance to 
discover, we seek to find the explanation provided for us. Unknowingly, 
the contemporary art lover finds themselves at the mercy of this 
subversive political machine of representation: the systems methodology 
and the curatorial cards continued use makes it almost impossible for 
us to view art in the public domain without it.

Furthermore, the information provided on the card now days is so 
complex in referring to the political systems and how the work of art 
came to be in front of the viewer, we become more intrigued with 
looking at the contacts, age of the artist and where they are from 
than the actual artwork it is representing. Like a life support system, 
the cards sit by watching over the artworks, embodying an authority 
without logic as an accessory to the artwork, almost as a new frame.

The principles of authority through the representation of ownership 
governed by art have been dismantled and overlooked for the importance 
of arts place in society. Its role as a place to be in dialogue with the 
audience instead of in the place of authority over the audience. Bearing 
this in mind, an alternative approach evidently displayed in the actions 
of Maria Anwander is simple: just as, to the art institution, the 
disappearance of the curatorial card is the disappearance of ownership,
of authority - so to the audience, the disappearance of the curatorial 
card system altogether is identical with the disappearance of ownership 
culture.


installation; MMFA 2004-2009, Maria Anwander, 54 acquired curatorial 
cards, mix media. Photography by Ben Gavin