An incredibly fascinating discussion is circulating around in the art world. As the presence of New Media art forms extend from the esoteric and rarely seen – in the case of Jst Chlln – into the light of the everyday, with online exhibitions presented on Youtube and the option of replacing Firefox ads with art, there comes into question the redefined role of the curator. Enter last month’s “New Style Curators” panel discussion at the New Museum featuring Paddy Johnson of Art Fag City, Ceci Moss of Rhizome at The New Museum, online media consultant Rex Sorgatz, and moderator Joanne McNeil of the Tomorrow Museum. In this influencial group’s attempt to answer the question of what online curating means, it only seems to stir up more questions – for them as much as for us. Do tweeters, re-tweeters, long-form bloggers, and folks with Tumblr accounts count as New Style Curators in their own right? They are, after all, selecting the images, words, and multimedia content that have special significance to them. What I’m curious to know, is what this means for the future of the traditional gallery space and the displaying of web-related art content? Will the “white space” be replaced with “no space”? I can’t wait to find out!
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