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Ahem. Hipsters, please, please, please stop using the word CURATED in reference to your; album collection, selection of vintage clothing, lists of restaurants, band line up for your rock festival, shit you like on Pinterest. To CURATE does not mean to edit, or choose, or to collect or assemble. Curating, in the art world, has much more to do with asking an urgent intellectual question—a question that has emerged out of robust and peer reviewed research (empirical research, not, like, Googling articles on the internet, or relying on secondary sources) and exploring that question through an analysis of art works that are positioned in relation to each other and to the viewer. While I certainly think you can position any object—whether it’s an art piece or a porcelain toilette—within a gallery space ( or any kind of social space) to lead/engage a viewer through an intellectual/experiential process, it’s probably NOT GONNA HAPPEN in your vintage clothing store. Or your brewery. Or your online magazine. Or listening to your iPod.
Great collection, though. Nice stuff, good taste—just stop using the word CURATED. I know the word sounds oh-so-fresh-and-so-cool and I get that you aspire to have the recognition and admiration that being a CURATOR engenders. But you’re not a curator. You just chose some cool stuff you like. You have great aesthetic taste.
A CURATOR would deconstruct the social and cultural process of how individuals collectively develop an aesthetic (within, say, a subculture like hipsters), through an exhibition of artworks that would lead you (the viewer) into some kind of internal dialogue exploring the cognitive dissonance that occurs when one is challenged to deconstruct their own identity. Like, what’s happening right now as you read this? Why don’t you go ‘curate’ that. Pretentious f*%s.
—Suffering Fools. NOT.
This article appears in Sep 24-30, 2015.
No OB, you are wrong.
From the Oxford dictionary;
“to collect, select and present information or items such as pictures, video, music, etc. for people to use or enjoy, using your professional or expert knowledge.”
So they are indeed curators.
I don’t know, Jesus, people who collect things for museums and other public venues are called ‘curators’, which would be for people to enjoy, but people who collect for themselves are called ‘private collectors’. Any person that uses the word ‘curate’ for their own private collection is just a pretentious douchebag and deserve a throat punch. I, personally, would laugh in their face!!!
Hipsters are indeed pretentious but it is the correct use of the word. I say let them do what they wish; it’s great entertainment. And I love the beards.
I wonder if you can curate Man Buns…..
Condensed version: Local curator is mad online
It’s a little pretentious but I think it is okay to use a word like curate loosely as a verb. We do that with other words like; “I’m going to doctor this to make it work”, “I’m going to engineer a change at the office”, “I had to police my staff”.
The line is crossed when someone describes themselves as an engineer, chef, curator, etc without having the formal training, professional experience and paid employment it implies. So the OB’s friend may be “curating” his collection but he ain’t no “curator”.
Upper class 20th century hippies.