Thesis abstract:

How can an artist agitate systems of inclusion and exclusion—the structures that reward compliance and disqualify dissent? Can criticality in contemporary art be sustained when collection and dissemination are reliant on platforms invented to favour aesthetic experience? This thesis examines specific aspects of the contemporary art world’s inner workings as I have experienced them—both through participation and critique. It proposes a synthesis of social, institutional, and self-critique.

The research begins with Marcel Duchamp’s 1963 retrospective at the Pasadena Museum of Art with the artist’s influence on first-generation Californian conceptual artists. It also explores connections and contrasts with historical and contemporary conceptual artists of New York, Europe, and Australia.

The research examines subversive approaches employed by seminal artists to bypass conventional museum models, social networks, art pedagogy, and unwritten rules sanctioned by cultural gatekeepers. Building upon institutional critique from the 1970s and 1990s, it advocates for new methods of art critique that navigate institutional entanglements.

Research was conducted at international libraries, archives, and through witnessing 'actions' by key artists. Hybrid creative-critical writing was employed to collapse the conventional dichotomy of artworks and the written component. The creative works of this thesis range from text-based finger paintings to performances with hired actors. They question the status quo of contemporary art through a cocktail of absurd and wry humour to uncover new frames of knowledge.