Behind the Scenes: Film Curatorship, Arts Organizations, and the Collective Production of Culture

• In Event: 4144 - Sociology of Culture Regular Session

Abstract

Previous studies portrayed film curatorship as a process based on the individual taste of curators. In this article, I use qualitative data to demonstrate that this view is inaccurate. Film curatorship is a collective process heavily influenced by the principles or logics that cultural organizations stand for. Logics are a set of principles rooted in an organization’s past that guide the use of resources for film curatorship. For this project, I obtained unprecedented access and conducted over two years of qualitative research in the archives and curatorial offices of two emblematic organizations. My first case is the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) film department in New York City. MoMA was the first museum to include the moving image in their collection in 1935, thus distinguishing between cinema as art and entertainment. My second case is the Cineteca Nacional in Mexico City, the most important film center in the Americas in terms of audiences. It receives 1.3 million visits per year, an unusual number for a center that specializes in art-house and experimental cinema. In this paper, first, I argue that film curatorship is a collective process, and second, I explain that while both cases are embedded in the same field of cultural production, each organization follows a unique logic to curate their film exhibitions. In the MoMA film department, the output of curatorship seeks to impact the boundaries of the field of art cinema, while in Cineteca Nacional, the moving image is strategically curated to obtain high attendance. I analyze each logic through the lens of film curatorship, the role of support staff, and the use of infrastructure and technology. I make the case that each logic sets priorities for how organizations use resources, which, in turn, shapes curatorial decisions. I contrast the examples to understand how variation occurs.

Author

• Tania R. Aparicio, New School for Social Research