paperJAM

About Face

In order to make the curatorial process more transparent, an open call for artist submissions was placed on various art sites on the Internet and in selected artists’ residencies, giving artists the opportunity to engage with the exhibition’s theme. The open call responded to the frequently asked question “How do curators select art?” and demonstrates the potential of an inclusive curatorial process. The winning submission is Under Construction by the artist collective paperJam. Under Construction challenges the traditional nature of an exhibition as a “white cube” containing aesthetic and cultural objects for passive observation, contemplation, and/or purchase. The audience is invited to participate in the literal building of the work by taking the newspapers which are provided and making them into building blocks. The resulting work, created over the course of the exhibition, will emerge at the hands of the audience as a homemade simulacrum of a cityscape.