This article was written in the context
of SPARRING TOUR 2009

[versión en español]

The visual arts clinic is an intervention which desires its consequences. The most obvious one is trust consolidation because this strengthens political and labor relationships between participants (individuals and institutions). The evaluation of this variable is simple: it repeats itself or not. Therefore, it needs an evaluation of six to a twelve month term.

The long-term consequences are more difficult to evaluate. In a previous article, we talked about how the autonomy atmosphere necessary for the art clinic had been created. One of the variables that frames this possibility, has to do with the way in which knowledge -that clinics put into circulation- is being received and used. This has to do with clinicees (This neologism refers to the people who take the clinic).

To know something about the clinicees, it is necessary to establish their admission diagnosis, an assessment to determine a range of treatment (argumentative). Here are some aspects to be considered.

The clinicees arrive in various career development stages: from newbies looking to be discovered -under the model of the actress who works as a waitress near the film studio- to trajectory artists who seek to raise their already established or declining careers through a renewed impetus. Between these extremes, there are multiple combinations that build self-image stereotypes and plans of action.

Another point to consider is the development velocity on the race: there are careers that are -at full speed- consuming resources, but have not consciously set goals and strategies. To some extent, they construct their working procedures and work objects based on the urgency of production, the rush of enunciation. Others base their development speed by seducing art spaces and these achievements (or failures) are the ones that set the pace.

One more, is hybridization in art production both in working materials (objects and concepts) as also in career deployment. Many artists combine, complement or subordinate their careers to others, such as cultural management, institutional or economic art-related professions and even non artistic occupations. In some cases this has to do with the need of contingent, daily subsistence. These are cases where, as Justo Pastor Mellado once said: «the house commits an outrage against art.»

Other clinicees use as a strategy -to insert their art-pieces in high profile, visible and/or commercial circuits- the provision of visual arts “service» capacities and functions throughout their social contact network. This is another kind of task (not the artistic one), which constitutes in the artwork or makes it possible. Or both.

This is likely to know during the presentation’s first couple of minutes made by the clinicee: its structure, the articulation between contents, emphasis and pauses tell us why they arrived to the clinic, gives us an idea of their expectations and abilities, which have on their self-imposed mission. Discourse analysis provides the art objects analysis – parameter and range.

With all this topics, it is possible to know whether the fever is a disease or just a symptom, and if it is healthier to eliminate or increase it.

Jorge Sepúlveda T.
Independent Curator
Salta – Buenos Aires, april 2009

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Este artículo ha sido etiquetado / This post is tagged Argentina, Art Clinic, art system, clinicees, English, English Version, Jorge Sepúlveda T., Justo Pastor Mellado, Sparring Tour