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Cul u e, Theo y and C i ique
ISSN: 1473-5784 (P in ) 1473-5776 (Online) Jou nal homepage: h p://www. and online.com/loi/ c c20
The ins i u ion o ins i u ionalism: di e ence,
uni e salism and he legacies o Ins i u ional
C i ique
Ca los Ga ido Cas ellano
To ci e his a icle: Ca los Ga ido Cas ellano (2017): The ins i u ion o ins i u ionalism: di e ence,
uni e salism and he legacies o Ins i u ional C i ique, Cul u e, Theo y and C i ique, DOI:
10.1080/14735784.2017.1410438
To link o his a icle: h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/14735784.2017.1410438
Published online: 17 Dec 2017.
Submi you a icle o his jou nal
View ela ed a icles
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The ins i u ion o ins i u ionalism: di e ence, uni e salism
and he legacies o Ins i u ional C i ique
Ca los Ga ido Cas ellano
Cen o de Es udos Compa a is as/Ins i u o de His ó ia de A e, Uni e sidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Po ugal
ABSTRACT
This ex analyses he ela ionship be ween ins i u ionalism, con ex
and cul u al c i icism. I s main objec i e is o iden i y how
uni e salism has pe mea ed he di e en wa es o Ins i u ional
C i ique, condi ioning he sub e si e po en ial con e ed o
c ea i e p ac ices and loca ing adical, al e na i e ins i u ionalism
wi hin he na ow geo-cul u al landscape o mains eam biennials.
Taking as poin o depa u e Cildo Mei eles’s pa icipa o y public
in e en ion in documen a 11, I conside how ep esen a ional
conce ns a e p i ileged is-à- is isual p ac ices ela ed o
coloniali y and di e ence. F om ha posi ion, he a icle a gues
ha only by challenging he assumed uni e sali y o he deba es
on cul u al ins i u ionalism will we be able o s ess he ele ance
o c i ique in add essing cul u al policies and non- ep esen a ional
p ac ices. This implies con on ing he oublesome ela ionship
be ween Ins i u ional C i ique and mode ni y om a
‘geog aphically-in o med’posi ion capable o ecognising
ins i u ionalism as a he e ogeneous body o p ac ices ha a e
being globally ans o med.
To be e ec i e, a cul u al c i ique mus show he links be ween he majo a icula ions o
powe and he mo e-o -less i ial aes he ics o e e yday li e. I mus e eal he sys ema ici y
o social ela ions and hei compelling cha ac e o e e yone in ol ed, e en while i poin s
o he speci ic discou ses, images and emo ional a i udes ha hide inequali y and aw io-
lence. Holmes (2002: 107).
Ins i u ionali y is i s and o emos a ques ion o scale. S imson, (2010: 161).
2002
Cildo Mei eles’s con ibu ion o documen a 11 ook he o m o a collabo a i e public
p ojec . In Disappea ing Elemen /Disappea ed Elemen , Mei eles used he ne wo k o
s ee endo s swa ming Kassel du ing he celeb a ion o documen a o sell un la ou ed
popsicles. This in e en ion ook place in a ious loca ions in Kassel du ing he h ee
mon hs o documen a. The ges u e o selling wa e in a mo e sophis ica ed o m g an s
ins i u ional c i icism geopoli ical aspi a ions: on he one hand, he wo k deals wi h
ma e ial exchanges and esou ces aking place in a ansna ional scena io; on he o he ,
i ope a es wi hin he quin essen ial in e na ional scena io o documen a, one o he
© 2017 In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup
CONTACT Ca los Ga ido Cas ellano [email p o ec ed]
CULTURE, THEORY AND CRITIQUE, 2017
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/14735784.2017.1410438
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mos ele an o ums o con empo a y a wo ldwide. Mei eles’pa icipa o y p ojec also
engages he ela ionship be ween a p es ige, economics and ecology; in ha sense, he ac
o selling wa e in he o m o popsicles appea s as a me apho o he ela ionship be ween
a is ic p oduc ion, use and alue, while also alluding o how basic esou ces such as wa e
a e becoming mo e and mo e sca ce. These a e jus some o he laye s a play in Mei eles’s
in e en ion.
Dealing wi h Disappea ing Elemen /Disappea ed Elemen , Alexande Albe o has also
poin ed ou ha i accomplishes se e al goals: i con inues he unmasking o inequali ies
be ween cen e and pe iphe y ca ied on by he B azilian a is ic a an -ga de o which
Mei eles belongs; i denounces he ola ili y o a globalised and biennial-d i en a
wo ld; i poses imely ques ions on ma e iali y, en i onmen alism, sus ainabili y, consu-
me ism and p i a isa ion; and inally, i in e wea es ‘ins i u ions and global phenomena’
(Albe o 2006: 302), uncoupling he connec ion be ween Ins i u ional C i ique and local
eali ies. Mei eles’s p ojec in documen a can also be in e p e ed as epi omising he con-
inui ies wi h and dis ance om he i s mani es a ions o Ins i u ional C i ique in he
1960s and 1970s:
1
in Disappea ing Elemen , he objec o c i icism is no loca ed wi hin
he ou walls o an a galle y o wi h a museum’s boa d o us ees; a he , Mei eles
poin s a a much wide , global and in isible se o powe ela ions pe pe ua ed by biennials
and mega-exhibi ions such as documen a.‘The whole s uc u e o he blockbus e exhibi-
ion’, a gues Albe o, ‘is wha ul ima ely is commen ed and cas ed [sic] in o doub in Dis-
appea ing Elemen /Disappea ed Elemen ’(303).
This las poin bea s special in e es o he objec i es o his a icle. Wha does i mean
o cas in o doub he ‘whole s uc u e o he blockbus e exhibi ion’ om wi hin? Wha
does he selec ion o documen a o s and o ansna ional powe ela ions wi hin he a
wo ld imply he e? Wha lessons can we lea n om Mei eles’s in e en ion? Is he e any
o he way o wea ing oge he ‘ins i u ions and global phenomena’?
Looking back o e almos 15 yea s, gi en he p oli e a ion o a p ojec s eme ging in
he ansna ional con ex o a biennales and hei expansion ac oss he globe, he c i ical
aspi a ions ha one can associa e wi h simila a is ic in e en ions ha e become less c i-
ically incisi e due o hei equency. As Filipo ic (2005) has explained, al hough bien-
nials eme ged wi h he in en ion o coun e ing he cen ali y o mains eam a
museums, hey quickly became egula o y ins umen s se ing ou he ules o a is ic con-
empo anei y. Fo Filipo ic, he consequences o his p ocess a e ambi alen . She w i es:
These pe ennial exhibi ions …pe cei e hemsel es as empo ally punc ual in as uc u es
ha emain o e e con empo a y and unbu dened by collec ing and p ese ing wha he
aga ies o ime ende simply mode n. The aim o be he pa adigma ic al e na i e o he
museum cu s bo h ways, howe e , wi h posi i e and nega i e dis inc ions. The p oli e a ion
o biennials in he nine een-nine ies ende ed hem new p i ileged si es o cul u al ou ism
and in oduced a ca ego y o a , he bombas ic p opo ions and hollow p emises o which
ea ned i he name ‘biennial a ’, a si ua ion ha kno ed he inc easingly spec acula
e en s o ma ke in e es s. Tha mega-exhibi ions can be comp omised is a equen
lamen , bu in hei bes momen s, hey o e a coun e p oposal o he egula p og amming
o he museum as well as occasions o a is s o espass ins i u ional walls and de y he nea
pe ime e o which he adi ional ins i u ion o en s ic ly adhe es when i o ganizes
1
The wo k o a is s such as Hans Haacke, Daniel Bu en, Michael Ashe o Ma cel B oodhae s is commonly discussed in
ela ion o his i s phase o Ins i u ional C i ique.
2C. GARRIDO CASTELLANO
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exhibi ions (al hough museums, i mus be said, a e inc easingly challenging hei own once-
s aid p o ocols.
E en i he e is hen always a isk o ecupe a ion by ma ke o ces, p ojec s such as Mei e-
les’s e ain he po en ial o pe o m a c i ique o ins i u ions. In hese p ojec s, he a is
chooses a pa icula ins i u ional con ex , in his case ha o documen a, in o de o
sub e i s alue sys em. Cu a ed by Okwui Enwezo ( he fi s non-Eu opean a di ec o
o he e en ), documen a 11 in oduced a d as ic e amping o he biennial o ma : on his
occasion, i included ansdisciplina y ‘pla o ms’in S . Lucia, New Delhi, Vienna and
Lagos. The cu a o ial eam, composed o Ca los Basualdo, U e Me a Baue , Susanne
Ghez, Sa a Maha aj, Ma k Nash, and Oc a io Zaya, was also a mo e e hnically and cul-
u ally di e se han in p e ious edi ions. The challenge ha Mei eles posed o a biennales
can be seen, hus, as holding global aspi a ions: wha he wo k seeks o commen on, wha
is cas in o doub is no hing less han a whole sys em o exchange and ecogni ion.
Howe e , in Disappea ing Elemen /Disappea ed Elemen , he symbol o ins i u ional
powe , i s locus, is s ill iden ified wi h he si e o p i ilege ha Kassel and documen a con-
s i u e. The c i ical po en ial o Disappea ing Elemen a ises om a con adic ion: on he
one hand, he wo k challenges he a ibu ion o ins i u ional powe o he museum o he
a galle y, loca ing i wi hin a ansna ional ne wo k holding a biennales; on he o he ,
he ‘p o incial’locus o documen a is s ill chosen as he pe ec loca ion o g ound ha
ansna ional ac o c i icism.
Al hough sympa he ic in many espec s o Albe o’s app oach, my in e es s he e will
none heless ollow a di e en pa h. Re u ning o Mei eles’s in e en ion as a poin o
depa u e o hink abou Ins i u ional C i ique’s democ a ising ole, in his ex I will
a gue ha space, and mo e speci ically he loca ion o ins i u ional powe and ins i u ional
c i ique wi hin he speci ic place o he mega-exhibi ion, a ises as one o he main pi alls
in new a emp s o ede ine bo h p ac ices.
2
Touching b ie ly on Disappea ing Elemen ,
his a icle seeks o unde s and how ce ain places can s ill be seen as mo e sui able
han o he s o in oduce discussions on global con igu a ions. This is by no means an
elemen exclusi e o Disappea ing Elemen . On he con a y; whe eas he e has been a
ecen in e es in expanding he scope o ins i u ional p ac ices o include decolonial, ins i-
uen , in as uc u al and o ganisa ional app oaches and ac ions, hese ha e no been ol-
lowed by a (much-needed) p ocess o e ising how he a icula ion be ween ‘ins i u ions
and global phenomena’does no cons i u e a na u al co ela ion.
In ha sense, del ing in o and in e wining al e na i e geog aphies and genealogies o
ins i u ional ges u es a ising om con ex s o he han Eu ame ica s ill a ises as an objec-
i e ye o be accomplished. In sho , when a is s a emp o app oach ins i u ional powe
no as i is embodied in a physical museum o galle y space, bu a he as a se o ansna-
ional ules and powe ela ions, he place associa ed wi h c i icism con inues o be
coupled wi h he p o incial scena io o mains eam Wes e n biennales. In a seminal
a icle i s published in 1974, he Aus alian a c i ic and his o ian Te y Smi h
de ined p o incialism as an obliga ion o some a is ic con ex s o become acquain ed
wi h he majo ends in Eu opean and Ame ican a , which would also u n hei
2
The e is no single de ini ion o ins i u ional powe . The a emp s a es aging he po en iali y o his kind o c ea i e p ac-
ice a e, as we will see, e y much dependen on ha ambigui y, as well as on he shi ing condi ions unde which ins i-
u ional powe is exe ed and displayed.
CULTURE, THEORY AND CRITIQUE 3
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p oduc ion in o some hing ou moded o dependen upon hese ends.
3
S ongly ejec ing
his logic, Smi h posed he ques ion o he p o incialism o a me opolises such as
New Yo k, poin ing ou how some a is s and a mo emen s a e g an ed uni e sal
alue, whe eas o he (equally ansna ional) genealogies a e unde s ood as belonging o a
unique con ex . Following his logic, i is possible o a i m ha he genealogy o Ins i-
u ional C i ique emains one o he mos p o incial and geog aphically na ow genealogies
o con empo a y a is ic p ac ice,
4
despi e he ecen ly exp essed in e es in inco po a ing a
ew cases as global ‘p eceden s’o ‘in luences’o he canonical, Wes e n genealogies o
Ins i u ional C i ique and Concep ual A .
5
Explo ing he consequences o his p o incial-
ism and inding po en ial c i ical answe s o i a e he main asks pu sued in his a icle.
Ins i u ional c i ique
Be o e unde aking his ask, a b ie desc ip ion o Ins i u ional C i ique’s objec i es and
genealogies is in o de . Ins i u ional C i ique eme ged in he 1960s and 1970s as a way o
gene a ing awa eness o he ins i u ional con ex in which a wo ks we e inse ed, while
also c i icising his medium. Buchloh (1990: 136) connec ed he appea ance o his in e es
in engaging ins i u ions c i ically wi h he e olu ion o Minimal and Concep ual A ,
poin ing ou how a wo ks we e indissolubly connec ed o he ins i u ional con ex in
which hey a e displayed, while highligh ing he impo ance o issues o au onomy and
owne ship. He e ogeneous in he o ms adop ed, he i s a emp s o engage c i ically
wi h he ins i u ion ocussed on e ealing ha he appa en ly neu al walls o he
museum o a galle y in ac ep esen ed a complex, a - om-innocen socioeconomic
sys em. By e ealing he elemen s a play behind his neu al image, a is s sough o gen-
e a e awa eness among he public ega ding he ole o cul u al ins i u ions in socie y. The
ac i i y o Hans Haacke in he ea ly 1970s is symp oma ic o his in e es . Fo example, in
his MoMA poll displayed in 1970 he asked isi o s o o e on poli ically o ien ed opics.
One yea la e , he disclosed he eal-es a e holdings o one o he Guggenheim Museum
us ees. The lis o a is s associa ed wi h his i s wa e o Ins i u ional C i ique is com-
monly educed o he qua e o med by Haacke, Daniel Bu en, Michael Ashe and Ma cel
B ood hae s. The wo k o hese a is s is also commi ed o laying ba e he con adic ions
o ins i u ional neu ali y, be hese physical, adminis a i e o economic.
In he 1980s and 1990s, he wo k o he membe s o he so-called second wa e o Ins i-
u ional C i ique ma ked a mo e away om limi a ions o his ‘publicness’. P e iously,
3
Smi h (1974:58–59) summa ises his logic by a guing ha
he p o incial a is , hen, sees his commi men o a in e ms o s yles o a o compe ing no ions o a ’shis o y
–all de e mined in he me opoli an cen e . The main s uc u e o his sel -image is accep ed, no in en ed.
Sel -cons uc ion, a le els ha he migh eel o be undamen al, cons an ly eludes him, especially as he
makes his a .
4
The e a e, howe e , some ema kable excep ions. See, o example, he deba es ga he ed in he las decade by he Con-
cep ualismos del Su : h ps:// edcsu .ne / o EIPCP T ans o m (h p://eipcp.ne /) Ne wo ks. On he impo ance o ex adis-
ciplina y in e ac ions in b eaking wi h he hie a chies o he a wo ld, see Expósi o (2006), Holmes (2011).
5
The p o incialism o Ins i u ional C i ique has been poin ed ou in se e al imes, al hough i has no been ackled deeply
enough. Examples o his can be ound in Sk ebowski (2013), G een (2006,2014), Nowo ny (2009) and G aw (2005,2006).
The disc epancies be ween hese au ho s e idence how unde sco ing he need o o e come he canonisa ion o Ins i-
u ional C i ique has no been ollowed by a c i ical e hinking o he global se ings in which ins i u ional dynamics
a e inse ed nowadays.
4C. GARRIDO CASTELLANO
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c i icali y was dependen on he belie ha an asep ic, ‘ou side ’posi ion was possible o
he a is . Fo a is s like And ea F ase , F ed Wilson o Renee G een, his is no longe
possible. The in e io isa ion o ins i u ional powe would be one o he majo di e ences
wi h he p e ious body o a is s, uelled by he expe ience o seeing how ins i u ions ‘ins i-
u ionalise’c i ique o hei own pu poses.
6
A is s began concei ing o hemsel es as pa
o an a sys em ha canno be educed o he ma e ial symbol o he museum o he a
galle y. On he con a y, he whole sys em o in e pe sonal, socioeconomic ela ions
in ol ed in con empo a y a would be conside ed ins i u ional. A his poin , he objec-
i e o c i icism changed: he poin would no longe be o look o hin s and unco e he
u h; a he , a is s would a emp o de e mine how can hey make use o hei own pos-
i ion o p i ilege wi hin he a sys em (wi hin he ins i u ion) in o de o ans o m i .
Ins i u ional c i ique’s blind spo s
The claim ha he locus o ins i u ional powe has emained a ached o a se o ixed
places may seem un ealis ic in ligh o he inc easing ansna ionalism o which he a
wo ld is subjec ed. Nowadays i would seem naï e o ep esen ins i u ional powe
h ough he walls o a museum o an a galle y. Ra he , a ague se o economic and pol-
i ical ela ions wi hou a ixed cen e and ope a ing globally is he shape ha comes o ou
mind when imagining he ins i u ional side o a is ic con empo anei y (see Smi h 2012,
2016). A is s like F ed Wilson, And ea F ase and Renee G een ha e made g ea con i-
bu ions in ans o ming he ‘non-si e’o he a exhibi ion in o he ubiqui ous si e o a is-
ic p oduc ion (see G een 2000), and in in oducing issues o ace and gende in o
con e sa ions on ins i u ionalism.
7
The wo k o F ase (2005) has been pa icula ly
use ul in cla i ying ha a is s a e also pa o he ins i u ional ab ic e en when hey c i-
icise i , being he e o e incapable o de e mining a eali y ou side ins i u ional powe .
Howe e , i is s iking how discussions o Ins i u ional C i ique ha e emained a ached
o an engagemen wi h speci ic loca ions and con ex s in a ew well-known ins i u ional
se ings such as majo museums o Wes e n-based biennials.
8
While many new oices ha e been in i ed o he deba es on Ins i u ional C i ique, hus
challenging he iew o he mo emen as a de i a ion o he (Eu opean and Ame ican)
a an -ga de, he his o ies o ins i u ional powe , he debunking o ins i u ional au ho i y
and he a icula ion o s a egic and ac i e co olla ies o Ins i u ional C i ique’s nega i i y
coming om he Global Sou h a e s ill unacknowledged o , o a la ge deg ee, absen .
9
This
absence ma ks a con inui y ha ex ends h ough he e olu ion o Ins i u ional C i ique
6
This idea was al eady p esen in Buchlow’s i s a emp o de ine Ins i u ional C i ique. In his classic essay ‘Concep ual A
1962–1969: F om he Aes he ic o Adminis a ion o he C i ique o Ins i u ions’(1990: 140), he a i ms, p ophe ically:
The c i ical annihila ion o cul u al con en ions i sel immedia ely acqui es he condi ions o he spec acle, ha he
insis ence on a is ic anonymi y and he demoli ion o au ho ship p oduces ins an b and names and iden i iable
p oduc s, and ha he campaign o c i ique con en ions o isuali y wi h ex ual in e en ions, billboa d signs,
anonymous handou s, and pamphle s ine i ably ends by ollowing he p e-es ablished mechanisms o ad e ising
and ma ke ing campaigns.
7
Wilson’sMining he Museum emains as one o he mos celeb a ed s eps in ha sense. See Do o (2011).
8
The inco po a ion o biennials as symbols o ins i u ional p i ilege does no con adic his; on he con a y, i has ended
o na ow he lis o usual suspec s.
9
The unde s anding o ‘Sou h’p oposed in his a icle is ela ed o pos colonial c i icism’s in e es in expanding and upda -
ing he no ion o Thi d Wo ld. See, o example, P ashad (2013).
CULTURE, THEORY AND CRITIQUE 5
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ac oss decades, mani es a ions and in e es s. F om he ‘phenomenological’and na ional
app oach o ins i u ional powe p esen in he so called ‘ i s wa e’, o he inclusion o
gende -based and e hnic app oaches ha ook place in he 1980s and ea ly 1990s exem-
pli ied in he wo k o F ed Wilson o Renee G een, o he mos ecen a emp s in esu -
ec ing Ins i u ional C i ique (see, o example, Albe o and S imson 2009; Raunig and
Ray 2009; S eye l 2006), he imagina ion o ins i u ional powe and he a ins i u ion
(singula ) emains a neu al, objec i e and one-sided p esence i espec i e o whe e i
ma e ialises.
Gi en his p edicamen , a po en ial objec i e a ises: o unde s and how Ins i u ional
C i ique’s uni e salism has emained un ouched despi e he ‘pos colonial u n’o a is s
like F ed Wilson and Renee G een, despi e p ojec s such as Disappea ing Elemen . The
app oach o uni e salism p oposed in his a icle bo ows om pos colonial heo y’s
in e es in c i icising how ce ain au ho s and ideas a e con e ed uni e sal alidi y,
whe eas o he s a e con ined o na owe , ‘local’cul u al con igu a ions. In his seminal
wo k P o incializing Eu ope, Dipesh Chak aba y (2000) al eady s essed how he dialec ic
be ween uni e salism and p o incialism was c ucial in he cons uc ion o in ellec ual and
his o ical adi ions.
10
Wi h ega d o a ins i u ions and Ins i u ional C i ique, uni e s-
alism can be app oached in a leas h ee di e en ways, all o hem closely ela ed o he
c i ical aspi a ions ou lined abo e: i s , he widesp ead exis ence o con empo a y a
ins i u ions a ound he globe canno be de ached om he c ea ion and global expansion
o he museum unde s ood as a mode n, Wes e n con i ance de e mining wha should be
displayed and how (see Cli o d 1988; Hodde 2012). Secondly, museums and cul u al
ins i u ions endea ou o democ a ise cul u e and o ha e a public impac while expanding
hei social con ibu ion o inc easingly la ge sec o s o he popula ion. Finally, he c i i-
cal ask de eloped by a is s using Ins i u ional C i ique is supposed o eclaim, s ess o
eco e his public commi men , hus bols e ing he social ole o cul u al ins i u ions.
Unde his logic, he p i ilege o exhibi ional o e in as uc u al o ms in he cons uc-
ion o wo ld a iews and he con inemen o ins i u ional powe wi hin a na ow ange
o Wes e n a e en s should be iden i ied as pa o a mo e complex dema ca ion, coming
along wi h a pa allel p ocess o de-ins i u ionalising and cap u ing pos colonial isual
p ac ices. In o he wo ds, he global display o many p ac ices ela ed o pos colonial cul-
u al con igu a ions o en akes place only a e he complex nego ia ions be ween a is s
and (local and ansna ional) ins i u ional en i ies a e e ased om he equa ion. Wo ld a
iews ha e p i ileged display o e in as uc u e, epheme ali y and lexibili y o e du -
a ion, exhibi ing o e ins i u ing. The la e e ms a e no absen om cu en deba es
in c ea i e p ac ices, bu hey a e no mally a ached in con empo a y c i icism o he
cen es o cul u al and economic powe . Fo ins ance, p ojec s such as he Cen e o His-
o ical Reenac men s o Dis ic 6 in Sou h A ica o collabo a i e, esea ch-d i en p o-
jec s such as he Pan A ican Ne wo k o Independen Con empo anei y (PANIC) a e
a he o e on o discussions on al e na i e a spaces and ho izon ally led ins i u ions.
11
These ini ia i es, howe e , a e o en s ill in e p e ed as bela ed eplicas o Wes e n
10
Chak aba y (2000: 5) ou lines how a simila dynamic applies o ime as well, a guing ha ‘I is only wi hin some e y
pa icula adi ions o hinking ha we ea undamen al hinke s who a e long dead and gone no only as people
belonging o hei own imes bu also as hough hey we e ou own con empo a ies’.
11
Fo a discussion on A ican al e na i e ins i u ional p ac ices, see Kouoh (2013). The PANIC p ojec can be accessed a :
h p://panicpla o m.ne /
6C. GARRIDO CASTELLANO
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phenomena, and consequen ly iden i ied as de i a i e. Some hing simila happens in
socially engaged a , whe e ‘pe iphe al’ini ia i es (Tucumán A de and Ala Plás ica in
A gen ina o he F en e 3 de Fe e ei o in B azil can be men ioned among he mos
ac i e and inno a i e cases) a e playing a c ucial ole in g an ing socially engaged a
i s in e na ional ele ance (see Kes e 2011). The in e na ional pu chase o ce ain
o ms o a is ic c ea ion, in o he wo ds, can only be unde s ood as he esul o he c oss-
ings eme ging ou o global expe iences and expe imen s, in which ‘Sou he n’ini ia i es
a e in many cases leading he way. These ini ia i es a e ede ining wha we unde s and
an a ins i u ion o be, hus challenging he Wes e n echnology o he museum and i s
impac on e i o ies subjec ed o di e en o ms o colonial powe ela ions. Because o
his, i is impossible o calib a e he enhanced weigh o al e na i e ins i u ional p ac ices
in a p o incial way, wi hou aking in o accoun ha no el y and inno a ion a e o igina -
ing mo e and mo e om ‘Sou he n’a is ic con ex s. In a simila way, i is also impossible
o main ain a iew o he p oduc ion associa ed wi h hese con ex s limi ed o he o m o
he exhibi ion o he biennial. As he examples o e ed he e e eal, nowadays an inc eas-
ingly la ge numbe o a is s and a p ac i ione s om all o e he wo ld a e p oducing
al e na i e o ganisa ional modes, con on ing cen al in as uc u al conce ns o hei
socie ies and c ea ing endu ing pla o ms and ne wo ks. I is om ha s andpoin ha
he selec ion o documen a as a pa adigm o ansien ansna ional ela ions can be
seen as p oblema ic.
Uni e salism, hen and now
Disappea ing Elemen /Disappea ed Elemen e eals bo h he pi alls and he pe sis ence o
Ins i u ional C i ique when add essing ins i u ional powe in he o m o ansna ional a
biennials. Whoe e buys Mei eles’s un la ou ed popsicles is no jus buying a e eshmen :
she is also denouncing he commodi ica ion o na u al esou ces, c i icising he use- alue
o a is ic exchanges, and censu ing he spec acula cha ac e o mega-exhibi ions like doc-
umen a (see Mille 2005). The e is, o cou se, su icien ambi alence in he wo k o allow
an opposi e in e p e a ion: we could equally a i m ha ha pe son is aking pa in he
commodi ica ion o na u al esou ces, sanc ioning he use- alue o a is ic exchanges
and suppo ing he spec acula cha ac e o mega-exhibi ions. This ambi alence is
sha ed by many ins alla ions appealing o he implica ion o spec a o s o biennial-
based p ojec s,
12
which will no be u he discussed he e. I Mei eles’s wo k in documen a
is einse ed he e, i is because i epi omises a mo e c ucial con adic ion: no ma e wha
in e p e a ion we make o i , he p ojec s ands o a loca ed ma e ialisa ion o an in an-
gible ne wo k o inancial global exchanges, a ne wo k whose angibili y he subsequen
yea s o he p esen cen u y would pain ully e eal. The p ojec is, in his sense, dependen
on a concep ualisa ion o biennial space as he app op ia e place o c i icism wi h uni e -
sal bea ing. Being e sa ile, mul i-laye ed and poin ed as i is, Disappea ing Elemen /Dis-
appea ed Elemen seeks a once o make an in e en ion in o global poli ics and he a
wo ld. Whe eas he buye o Mei eles’s popsicles is p opelled in o he ubiqui y and
12
The i s e e ence ha comes o mind he e is ine i ably Felix González-To es’sUn i led. Po ai o Ross in L.A. Al hough
González-To es’s p ac ice has had a as lis o ollowe s, he poli ical and ac i is dimensions o his wo k a e no so o en
appa en . Fo a discussion on how Rela ional Aes he ics has app oached González-To es, see Bishop (2004,2006,2012),
Kes e (2004), Pu es and Aslan Selze (2015), W igh (2004).
CULTURE, THEORY AND CRITIQUE 7
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non-si e o global capi alism, his happens h ough he e y speci ic landscape o documen a.
The ac o buying and ea ing he popsicle s ands o in e ening and dis up ing he ealm o
he poli ical.
13
Unde s ood om his angle (gi en he expe ience o ecen yea s) and com-
pa ed o less cosme ic and mo e loca ion-speci ic o ms o a is ic in e en ion applied o
en i onmen al issues such as he Dako a Access Pipeline p o es in he Uni ed S a es, he
wo k o a is s such as Ra i Aga wal and Tusha Joag in India, o he ac i i y o Goddy
Leye in de elic spaces in Douala, Came oon, Disappea ing Elemen enac s an illusion o uni-
e salism pe o med by he a is and sanc ioned by he ins i u ion in he p ecise and sa e-
gua ded space o he biennial. Ins i u ional C i ique’s main aspi a ion ( o ensu e he
ul ilmen o a ins i u ions’democ a ising and public ole), when appea ing in i s mos
educ i e and con la ing e sion, namely uni e salism, can also ep esen i s main bu den.
The consequences o his a i ma ion a e ele an since hey de e mine he cu ency o
c i icism a a ime ma ked by commonali y and al e na i e, c i ical ins i u ionalism, bu
also by p eca iousness, p i a isa ion and a banking (see S eye l 2016). I is no jus
ha ‘Sou he n’his o ies o ins i u ionalism ha e been o go en and disca ded, he eby
embedding Ins i u ional C i ique’s his o y exclusi ely wi hin he mos canonical e sion
o he a an -ga de (B ian-Wilson 2003) bu , a he , ha a whole no ion o wha ins i-
u ional powe is has been ins i u ionalised, uni e salised and made na u al, condi ioning
no only wha is pe cei ed as powe , bu also he po en ial esponses o i .
The clamou o uni e salism in Ins i u ional C i ique is indissolubly linked o i s
belonging o mode ni y and o i s aspi a ions o b ing back a ’s public dimension
(Albe o 2009). In 1974 Hans Haacke a gued (2005, 53):
I espec i e o he ‘a an -ga de’o ‘conse a i e’,‘ igh is ’o ‘le is ’s ance a museum migh
ake, i is, among o he hings, a ca ie o socio-poli ical conno a ions. By he e y s uc u e
o i s exis ence, i is a poli ical ins i u ion. This is as ue o museums in Moscow o Peking as
o a museum in Cologne o he Guggenheim Museum. The ques ion o p i a e o public
unding o he ins i u ion does no a ec his axiom.
The aspi a ion owa d anspa ency in ins i u ional powe ound in a is s like Haacke
also exp esses a desi e o ans o m ins i u ional space in o a public sphe e. By denouncing
he supposed neu ali y o he whi e cube, he i s p ac i ione s o Ins i u ional C i ique
a emp ed o display he implici mechanisms o poli ical and economic powe and p i i-
lege unde lying he appa en ly democ a ic walls o a is ic ins i u ions. The a is ic p ac-
ices ha , in he la e 1960s and 1970s, came o be e e ed o as Ins i u ional C i ique
e isi ed ha adical p omise o he Eu opean Enligh enmen wi h he in en o con on -
ing he a ins i u ions wi h he claim ha hey we e no su icien ly commi ed o he
pu sui o publicness ha had b ough hem in o being in he i s place (S imson
2010), le alone s imula ing o ul illing. In his sense, he wo ks o a is s such as Hans
Haacke and Daniel Bu en we e coupled wi h a p omise: he p oduc ion o public
exchange, o a public subjec , o a public sphe e wi hin he speci ic ield o a .
14
13
This nega i i y implies a e usal o engage on a close le el wi h he economic exchanges which a wo ks c i icise. Kes e
(2013) loca es his ea wi hin an aes he ic ajec o y o dis ancing ha ex ends om Kan and Schille o Ado no. The
consequence o his dis ancing would be o place he ho izon o change always wi hin some ung aspable u u e, con-
sequen ly dismissing any u gency o engagemen in he he e and now.
14
In S eye l’s wo ds (2006): ‘ he claims ha he i s wa e o ins i u ional c i ique oiced we e o cou se ounded in con-
empo a y heo ies o he public sphe e, and based on an in e p e a ion o he cul u al ins i u ion as a po en ial public
sphe e’.
8C. GARRIDO CASTELLANO
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