Curating Consciousness: Mysticism and the Modern Museum (review)

I am an artist and not a curator, but an artist with a longstanding interest in the place of consciousness, mysticism and related non-physical processes in the visual arts. My own art has been much influenced by these ideas. These comments then are from one artist's point of view.

Because of the general nature of the title, I was a bit disappointed that the book focused so heavily on one curator/critic, John Sweeney. However, his work is certainly central to any discussion of mysticism in the modern museum, as the author very carefully develops. It is, therefore, a necessary part of any understanding of Western 20th-century art. It would appear that a book that would discuss a variety of curatorial approaches to the same artists is another enterprise.

With the focus on Sweeney, the author not only clearly presents Sweeney's underlying assumptions and the ways his approach plays out as he curates exhibitions by various artists, but also includes the museum culture in which these took place and with which they often clashed.

Chapter 1 is a general introduction to John Sweeney and his ideas and career. Chapter 2 describes his writings, teachings, curatorial activities and collaborations with Alfred Barr that provided the basis for his curatorial approach. The remaining chapters deal in great detail with the approach Sweeney took when exhibiting the work of particular artists when he was director of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. While the book is well researched and footnoted, as a scholarly text should be, it is written in a way that is accessible for the informed non-specialist.

One of the central themes of the book and of Sweeney's work is the concept of coincidentia oppositorum, the unification of opposites, "the saying of the unsayable." The author develops this very difficult theme clearly, as it is involved in Sweeney's curatorial practice. She approaches it in a number of different ways, which provides a framework for appreciating the subtleties involved. Likewise, the concepts of mysticism and the spiritual in the visual arts are clearly and amply discussed, as Sweeney developed these ideas both theoretically and in his curatorial work. There are many quotes from Sweeney, but they are interwoven in ways to provide the essence and context of the concepts involved.

As an artist, I found the book helped me a great deal. I would certainly recommend the book to anyone interested in gaining a more thorough understanding of 20th-century Western art.