Laura Hoptman

Carnegie, Jan/Feb 2003 by Gangewere, R J

At Work on the 2004 Carnegie International

THE CARNEGIE INTERNATIONAL IS THE OLDEST INVITATIONAL SURVEY OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN NORTH AMERICA, AND THE 54TH EXHIBITION IN THE SERIES IS SCHEDULES TO OPEN IN OCTOBER 2004. PREPARATION FOR THIS GREAT EXIHIBITION TAKES ABOUT THREE YEARS, AND DESPITE THE FACT THAT CURATOR OF CONTEMPORARY ART LAURA J. HOPTMAN HAS NOT YET BECOME A FAMILIAR NAME TO PITTSBURGHERS, SHE HAS BEEN TRAVELLING ON BEHALF OF CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF ART SINCE NOVEMBER 2001. SHE TALKS WITH ROBERTS J. GANGEWERE, THE EDITOR OF CARNEGIE MAGAZINE, ABOUT HER ROLE AS EMISSARY FOR THE MUSEUM, AND AS CURATOR FOR THE 2004 INTERNATIONAL.

Robert Gangewere: Your responsibility seems to be like that of an all-seeing eye-you have to know what the international art world knows, and what people in some parts of the world have not yet seen.

Laura Hoptman: It's impossible for me to see everything. Andrew Carnegie's idea in 1896 was that you could see everything in the known art world, and then bring back the best to Pittsburgh. I don't think you can say that now.

My strategy is to know a lot about some things; some things I think might be useful for people in Pittsburgh to have a look at. "Useful" means a lot of things. It is something that will make people happy, interest them, provoke them, something that will relate to their world, my world, our world....

I'm most interested in art that we can relate to, that we can use in our life.

Do you have an example of art that you found useful?

Sure. There's a piece in the Panopticon show now that is up at eye level, a small still life by Chardin, an 18th-century artist. He does still lifes, mostly small. In history he has been thought of as a great painter of humanity, and at this time in our country it is a wonderful thing for me to be able to look at that still life, which has a beaker of coffee, a few onions, and a glass of water on the table [Glass of Water and Coffeepot, c. 1761]. It is in a late afternoon glow. It speaks volumes to me about the values that are important to me at this moment. That is a perfect example.

Is the terrorism of 9/11 and the current economic situation reflected in the art that you are seeing today?

The values of the art are not just restricted to the memory of 9/11 and the current economic situation. It's what we live with every day. I think that art is a transcendent thing, but it is something we encounter every day. We can relate to it one on one. Something that is wondrous, but not necessarily meant to confound.

And the other important thing is that each curator brings to this task his or her point of view. So that what you get at the Carnegie International is not the best of the world, but rather the best of the world according to curator X or Y. And that is what you are going to get from me.

It is very important to underline that, because there are no "inarguables" in art, particularly in contemporary art, where history is still vague and hasn't yet confirmed our choices. I think if you look over the Internationals of the past, certainly since 1950, you see that a lot of the important artists who have made up the vocabulary we now use for contemporary and modern art have done a turn here. That has been due to the perspicacity of the directors of Carnegie Museum of Art, who chose the people who did the Internationals. So certainly we hope to bring the very, very best that we can to Pittsburgh.

Is the International addressed to an elite world of contemporary art observers who have a sense of what was new a few years ago, and what is new this year, internationally?

Those people are there certainly. We want that kind of patronage because we are playing with the big boys, and we have voice in the international art world. But just as importantly, this is also an exhibition for Pittsburgh. It really is. The vast majority of people who come to this show are from the region. They are not the art world denizens.

And frankly, if the show is good-- and we have had some wonderful shows in the past decade-that is equally good for Pittsburghers, and people from this region, as well as for denizens of the art world.

So you know the previous Internationals? Of course, and I know very well the 1999 International that Madeleine Grynsztejn curated. I thought it was excellent...from soup to nuts. Beautifully presented, with artists of the first water.

And the show was really fun in many moments. The popularity of the steam fountain that Olafur Eliassan did [Your Natural Denudation Inverted, 1991] is legion. And that is a good example of something that really penetrated into the community, and became beloved by the community. A great, great work. One of the best that he ever made.

Louise Bourgeoise's Cell II was in Richard Armstrong's International in 1995, and now she is represented by those wonderful "eye" chairs in Katz Plaza in the cultural district downtown.

What are your duties as the curator of the next International?

As an emissary for Carnegie Museum of Art I have to do all kinds of things.