Verlag für moderne Kunst, Vienna, 2020
Paperback, 22 × 16 cm, 112 pages, numerous ills. in color
ISBN 978-3-903320-36-9
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Editor: Franz Thalmair
Texts: Anette Baldauf, Lea Lugarič, Franz Thalmair
Translation: Christine Schöffler & Peter Blakeney | www.whysociety.org
Artistic contributions: Kathi Hofer, Ricarda Denzer, Ignacio Uriarte
Graphic design: Studio Kehrer | www.studiokehrer.at
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Doing Homework — Art, Research, and Ethics
By Anette Baldauf
The turmoil started one day before the opening: On March 16, 2017 the art critic Jerry Saltz previewed the Biennial at the Whitney Museum, posting a picture of Dana Schutz’s painting Open Casket and calling it beautiful. A trail of comments called the descriptor “beautiful” into question, as the painting referred to a black corpse disfigured by the violence of white supremacists. That same night the artist Devin Kenny posted a series of questions on Facebook addressing Schutz’s painting: “Who is the audience for this painting? […] What action is this work purportedly, and actually doing? Does it inform? Shock? Build connection? Help a new audience understand either emotionally or intellectually the complex set of factors all falling under the umbrella of white supremacy, sexism, and anti-blackness that led to this young person’s death?” The next day the Whitney Biennial opened with Open Casket on the wall in one of its rooms. On the painting’s canvas, thick and heavy brushstrokes spread brown, red, and yellow lines, hinting at the contours of a head enfolded by a bright…
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