Aspekte der Positioniertheit

Interventionen zeitgenössischer Künstler*innen in ethnologischen Sammlungen aus kunstwissenschaftlicher Sicht

Abstract

This paper presents four examples of exhibitions in which artists engaged with items from ethnographic collections. They are scrutinized with regard to the concept of positionality and analysed to what extent they meet the criteria of contemporary museum ethics. It becomes clear from these examples that the engagement with colonial history and claims to decoloniality from a contemporary standpoint cannot be achieved with every concept. Not only can the idea of Carte Blanche, that is free rein in the development of a concept from the artist side, lead to very different results, but also these projects vary in each case with regard to the debate about the crisis and renewal of ethnological collections and museums of the last 30 years.