Dionysian Inspiration: The Contribution of Classical Reception Studies Methodology to the Interpretation of Current Curatorial Concepts

Dionysian Inspiration: The Contribution of Classical Reception Studies Methodology to the Interpretation of Current Curatorial Concepts

The postmodern state of mind was defined by theorists such as Fredric Jameson as a-historical, and today’s society as “bereft of all historicity and denies its past which is modified into a vast collection of images and thus effaced altogether”. However, and from an approach contrasting a-historicism, the following study employs Classical Reception Studies as a comparative methodology in the analysis of contemporary art. The study bears an inter-disciplinary character, presenting four recent exhibitions as a case study, inspired by and interpreted with reference to Dionysian myths, literary documents and philosophical sources. Three of the exhibitions were exhibited in Tel Aviv between 2103-2014: Carrara Syndrome by the artist Zohar Gotesman; Tigers by the artist Jossef Krispel; and Mysteria by the artist Dor Confino. The fourth exhibition, Climax, was a dance-performance choreographed by Yasmeen Godder, displayed as part of the exhibition Set in Motion at the Petach-Tikva Museum of Art.

Published in: International Journal of Art and Art History, 3(1), pp. 19-61

Read More