Quick—Nobody’s Looking: Sidestepping Structures of Power in Contemporary Art through Wry Humour and Absurdist Institutional Critique

Abstract

How might a contemporary artist trouble systems that prize compliance and quietly sideline dissent? Can criticality in contemporary art be sustained when collection and dissemination are reliant on platforms invented to favour aesthetic experience? This thesis examines specific aspects of the contemporary art world’s inner workings as I have encountered them—through both participation and critique. It presents a synthesis of social, institutional, and self-critique.

The research begins with Marcel Duchamp’s 1963 retrospective at the Pasadena Museum of Art and examines his influence on first-generation Californian conceptual artists. It also explores connections and contrasts with historical and contemporary conceptual artists in New York, Europe, and Australia.

The project surveys subversive approaches employed by seminal artists to bypass conventional museum models, social networks, art pedagogy, and tacit rules sanctioned by cultural gatekeepers. Building upon institutional critique from the 1970s and 1990s, it advocates for new methods of art critique that navigate institutional entanglements.

Research was conducted at international libraries, archives, and through witnessing actions by key artists. Hybrid creative-critical writing was employed to collapse the conventional dichotomy of artworks and the written component. The creative works of this thesis range from text-based finger paintings to performances with hired actors. Through a cocktail of absurd and wry humour, they confront the status quo of contemporary art and advance new frames of knowledge.