Hans Ulrich Obrist Ways Of Curating

《策展的方法》（Ways of Curating）是當代全球最具影響力的獨立策展人、倫敦蛇形畫廊（Serpentine Galleries）藝術總監 漢斯·烏爾里希·奧布里斯特（Hans Ulrich Obrist，常被稱為 HUO） 於 2014 年出版的代表性著作。這本書並非硬性的理論教科書，而是他結合自身超過 250 場國際展覽的實踐經驗、藝術史回顧以及與眾多頂尖藝術家的對話精髓，所凝聚出的一部策展實務與思維指南。 [1, 2, 3]

以下為本書的核心精髓與亮點概述：

奧布里斯特在書中追溯了「策展」的本質與演變： [1, 2]

書中生動記述了奧布里斯特的策展起點——1991 年，年僅 23 歲的他利用自己廚房舉辦的處女秀展覽 World Soup (The Kitchen Show)。這個實驗性的項目打破了傳統美術館的白盒子（White Cube）限制，展示了策展可以發生在任何日常空間，也奠定了他打破學科邊界、強調流動性與日常性的策展風格。 [1, 2, 3]

書中穿插了他與無數當代傳奇藝術家（如 Gerhard Richter、Louise Bourgeois、Gilbert & George、Yoko Ono 等）的深度交往與啟發。例如： [1, 2]

除了實體書籍，此計畫亦延伸至由 Google Arts & Culture 攜手打造的 Ways of Curating 線上互動平台。該平台將奧布里斯特三十多年來的 200 多個跨領域策展項目數位化，以網絡圖譜的形式呈現，讓讀者與觀者能直觀地追蹤全球思想家、藝術家與各主題之間的動態連結。 [1]

這本書是了解現代策展不可或缺的經典，對於藝術管理學生、文化工作者以及任何想理解當代藝術如何運作的人來說，都是極具啟發性的必讀之作。

Ways of Curating is a representative work published in 2014 by Hans Ulrich Obrist (often known as HUO), the world's most influential independent curator and artistic director of Serpentine Galleries in London. This book is not a rigid theoretical textbook, but a curatorial practice and thinking guide that combines his practical experience of more than 250 international exhibitions, the review of art history, and the essence of dialogue with many top artists. [1, 2, 3]

The following is an overview of the core essence and highlights of this book:

Core concept: What is curation?

Aubrest traces the essence and evolution of "curation" in the book: [1, 2]

The guardian essence of the word source: Curating comes from the Latin curare, which means **"take care" or "cultivate"**. The first task of the curator is to take care of the artwork, protect the artist, and act as the artist's "Sparring partner" and promoter, not the creator who competes with the artist.

Building a bridge of links: The essence of curating exhibition is **Making junctions**, so that originally unrelevant elements, fields and ideas collide and touch in the same space.

Actively create reality: Aubrest emphasized that the exhibition should not be just an "illustration" of existing ideas, but should **"Produce reality"**, actively intervene and shape the way the public experiences the world. [1,2,3,4]

The three major thinking axes of this book

1. The starting point of personal practice and legend

The book vividly describes the starting point of Aubrest's curation - in 1991, when he used his kitchen to hold his debut exhibition World Soup (The Kitchen Show) at the age of 23. This experimental project breaks the White Cube restrictions of traditional art galleries, shows that curation can take place in any daily space, and also lays the foundation for his curatorial style that breaks the boundaries of disciplines and emphasizes mobility and daily life. [1, 2, 3]

2. Tribute to history and "unrealized exhibition"

Inheritance of art history: He reviewed the evolution from the 17th century "Wunderkammer" to the modern museum, and paid tribute to the curatorial pioneers who inspired him (such as Harald Szeemann, Walter Hopps, Diaghilev, etc.).

Unfinished files: Aubrest is particularly fascinated by **"Unrealized projects"**. He believes that those artistic ideas that fail to be implemented due to technology, funds or times often contain the most avant-garde energy, and one of the responsibilities of curators is to explore and release these buried potentials. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

3. Dialogue with the master

The book is interspersed with his in-depth interaction and inspiration with countless contemporary legendary artists (such as Gerhard Richter, Louise Bourgeois, Gilbert & George, Yoko Ono, etc.). For example: [1, 2]

Artist John Baldessari once compared the curator to **"chef"**, responsible for mixing different ingredients (artworks) into a feast.

Through the dialogue across contemporary art, architecture, science and philosophy, it shows that curation is an interdisciplinary method of **"knowledge production"**. [1, 2, 3]

Extend the digital experience

In addition to physical books, this plan also extends to the Ways of Curating online interactive platform created by Google Arts & Culture. The platform digitizes more than 200 cross-field curation projects in Aubrest for more than 30 years and presents them in the form of a network atlas, so that readers and viewers can intuitively track the dynamic links between global thinkers, artists and themes. [1]

This book is an indispensable classic for understanding modern curation. It is a very inspiring must-read for art management students, cultural workers and anyone who wants to understand how contemporary art works.