Joseph Constable

This dissertation considers the Brazilian artist, Lygia Clark, in the context of contemporary curating and exhibition display. Through her rejection of the artist-author status, Clark becomes a proposer, or an initiator of creative potentiality within the individuals who participate in her actions. Through a discussion of her artistic career and two exhibition case studies, the dissertation attempts to evidence the curatorial dilemma that Clark’s work presents. As an artist whose practice dissolves the established art historical relationship between the artist, object and spectator, Clark’s practice calls for a generative approach that is concurrent with its movement beyond institutional structures and strictures. As such, the dissertation also puts forward alternative strategies for curating Clark today in the form of an exhibition proposal.