281artpress354evenementAltermodernTriennaledelaTate 2009TateBritain3 fWvrier- 26avril2009Commissairedelatriennaledela"Tate BritainaLondres,NicolasBourriaudatentede renouvelerlaformuled'unevenementpresti-gieux,traditionnellementconsa-creauxartistesbritanniques.IntituleeAltermodern,I'exposi-tionreunitdesartistesqu'ildefi-nit commearadicantsn,anepasconfondreavec4( radicauxn.Pre-cisionsaveclecommissairedeI'expositionNicolasBourriaud.0Dans votre manifestedelatrien-nale, vous definissez leterme a alter-moderne)commeunenouvelleorientationdeI'artdu21,sibc1e.L'&repostmoderneest-elledoncbien termin6e ?Telestentouscaslepostulatde1'exposition,dontlesujetpourraitCtredbfinicommeceluidesmodesdeperiodisationdeI'art.Jesuisdoncpartid'unr6cit: lepostmoder-nismesedeveloppedanslase-condemoitiedes annbes1970,danslesillageduchocp6trolierde1973,apartirduquelI'Occidentprendconsciencedufaitquesesres-sources6nergetiquesnesontpasinfinies,disloquantlanotionde(( progr6sii.PeterSloterdijkafortjustementpergulemotifde1'explo-sion,dujaillissementpetrolier,commelaasceneprimitivea)dumodernisme,quiprendfinaveclahantisedelapenurie...Apartirdece moment,1'economiemondialesed6connectedetoutegeographieconcretepoursejeterdanslafinan-ciarisation,enmametempsqueI'histoiresedetachedetoutscena-rioprieetabli.Enr6actioncettedeconnection,laculturepostmo-derne,apresavoirfaitledeuildumodernismeaucoursdesannbes1980,vasefixersuruneproblema-tiquedel'origine.D'oOviens-tu?Cettesecondeperiodepostmo-derne,quel'onpeutdaterde1989,inaugureunrelativismeabsoludescriteresesth6tiques: elledebouchesurunesalutaired6colonisationdesesprits,mais6galementsurdesimpassesetdesapories,parmiles-quelleslefameuxaessentialismestrategique> spivakien.L'hypothesede1'expositionAltermodernconsisteaouvrirlaportedesortie,horsdupostmo-derne: notremondeglobalise,hori-zontalise,agoogle-earthise),pro-duitunnouveauchampdeformes,dontlaspatialisationdutempsetlavalorisationduparcoursaudetri-mentdessurfacessont,entreautres,dessympt6mes.TheorieetexpositionCeph6nom4ne despatialisationdutempsetdeI'histoire aproduit unnouveaumodedeproductionquevousappelezlaa forme-trajet)).Pourriez-vous d6finir cettenotion ?Cetteformesp6cifiquequej'essaiede designer souslenom deaforme-trajetainsistesurlanotiondepar-coursentantquemoded'6criture:enrelevantlesnombreusesoccur-rencesduvoyage,dudefile,duEnhautItop:MarcusCoates.( Firebird,Rhebok,BadgerandHarea.2008(Ph.J.Ramirez; deI'artiste,2008)Ci-dessusIabove : GustavMetzger. LiquidCrystalEnvironmenta.1998.5projecteursde diapositives,cristauxliquldes,verrePh.FBMStudio,Zurich; SammIungmigrosmuseumfOrgegenwartskunst.PretpermanentdeI'artiste/Permanent loan bythe artist5 slide projectors, liquidcrystals, glassslides, mechanical control.artpress354129eventdeplacement,de1'erranceoudelatopologie(queI'onpourraitdefinircommeunemathematiquedelatra-duction)dansI'artcontemporain.Leparcoursconstitueunematricevisuelle,encequ'ellefournitunmo-tif(laconnaissancedumonde),unimaginaire(I'exploration,parailleursli6eauxtempsmodernes),unestructure(Ia collected'informations)etununiversdeformes(lechainaged'el6mentsdansdesespace-tempsheterogenes).VousexposezegalementI'ceuvreLiquidCrystalEnvironmentdeVar-tiste Gustav Metzger, une figure ma-jeure de la sc6ne britannique.Quelleplace occupe-t-il dansP'exposition ?Metzger,quiestenquelquesortemisenexerguede1'exposition,estpourmoilegrandartistedudesastreecologique,etceluiquiamisenplace,deslesannees1960,unesolideproblematiquedudeveloppe-mentdurable,aubeaumilieudumodernisme(expiosifLondres, ville-mondeVotre nouvel essai Radicantse situe-t-ildans la continuite de I'EsthdtiquerelationnelleetdePostproduction,vosprec6dents ouvrages ?Mesdeuxprecedentslivresse foca-lisaient sur une,, scbnesimilaire,apartirdepointsdevuedifferents.Radicants'inscritdansuneconti-nuite,maiscettefoisils'agitducadreideologiqueal'interieurdu-quelces formess'inscrivent,Radicalsignifie(( qui appartient ala racine Y.Lemotradicant,quiluisuccededanslesbonsdictionnaires,designeunorganismequifaitpoussersesracinesaufuretamesurequ'ilavance.Cen'estpasunrhizome,maisuneligneobstineeetdialo-gique,danslamesureouelledoltnegocieraveclesolquiI'accueille.DisonsqueletermemarqueuneI mited'aveclepostmoderne,entantquepenseedel'origine.Commepourmesprecedentsou-vrages,celui-cis'appuiesurl'obser-vationdesoeuvres- c'estdanscesensque1'expositionconstituepourmoiuneetapefondamentale,quivientquestionnerles elementsth6o-riquessurlesquelsellesebase-Quelleestlasp6cificit6decetteexposition au sein de votre parcoursdecommissaire ?Lanotiond'altermodernes'esttoutd'aborddeveloppeeatraversquel-quesconferencesdonneesa Bang-kok,Buenos AiresetSydney,et ceslocalisationsfaisaientpartiedupro-jet.Latriennalem'apermisd'utili-serLondrescommeunlaboratoire,carc'estuneville-monde.Ellereu-nissaittraditionnellementdesartistesbritanniques,maisj'aipro-poseuneautreclassification:lesartistesnesenAngleterre,lesresi-dentsetles(passers-by,,c'est-a-direlespassants...Parailleurs,j'aietireleprojetdansletempsavecSpartacusChetwynd.(( Hermito'sChildren,TVPilot,.2008.(1de'artiste).NathanielMellors.,Giantbum,2008.(Court.deI'artiste,Matt'sGallery,Londres,ZINGERpresents,Amsterdam deI'aniste).Animatronic sculpture inproductionAscuratoroftheTateBritainTriennialinLondon,NicolasBourriaudsetouttorefreshtheformatofthisprestigiouseventtraditionallydevotedtoBritishartists.Subtitled"Altermodern,"hisselectionfeaturesartists thathedefinesas"radicants,"atermnottobeconfusedwith"radicals,"asBourriaudexplainstoFlorenceOstendehere.N In your manifestofor the triennial,you say that the "altermodem"is thenew orientation of art inthe twenty-first century. Does this meanthat thepostmodern era is really over?Well,that'sthepostulatebehindtheshow,atanyrate.Itssubjectcouldbedefinedasthewaysofperiodizingart.Istartedwithanarrative:postmodernismdevel-opedinthesecondhalfofthe1970s,inthe wakeof the oilshockof1973,whentheWestbegantorealizethatitsenergyresourceswerenotinfinite,andthenotionof"progress"startedtocomeapart.PeterSloterdijkhasveryappositelyseenthemotifoftheexplosion,theburstinggushofoil,as the"primalscene"of mod-ernism,whichcomestoanendwhentheobsessionwithshort-agekickedin.At that moment,theworldeconomycutloosefromconcretegeographyandthrewitselfintofinancialization,atthesametimeashistorywasdriftingawayfromanykindofpre-estab-lishedscript.Inreactiontothisdisconnection,postmodernculturewentfromgrievingformodernisminthe1980stoapre-occupationwiththequestionoforigins. Wheredo youcome from?Thissecondpostmodernperiod,whichcanbedatedfrom1989,inauguratedanabsoluterelativismofaestheticcriteriaandledtoasalutarydecolonizationofminds,but alsotovariousdead-endsandaporias, includingSpivak'sfamous"strategic essentialism." ThehypothesisofAltermodern opensadooroutofpostmodernity:ourglobalizedworldhorizontalizes,"Google-Earthizes"things-itisproducinganewforcefield,thesymptomsofwhichincludethespatializationoftimeandtheemphasisontrajectorytothedetrimentofsurfaces.Thisphenomenon of the spatializa-tion of time and history has produced301artpress354bvbnementShezadDawood."Feature".2008.Q ShezadDawood, Court.ParadiseRow,Londres; Ph.LewinSt Cyr)lesquatreprologues,quiontpermisd'accumulerlespiecesaconvictionetlesd6batsautourde]anotiond'saltermoderne)).Lexpositionaproprementparlerauraainsieuunedur6ed'un an,du 26avril2008au 26avrildecetteann6e.En1996,votreexpositionTrafficaccompagnait lespremierstextesdeI'Esth6tiquerelationnelle.Delam6memaniere, latriennale accom-pagnelaparutiondeRadicant.Quels sont lesliens entre votre pra-tiquetheoriqueetvotrepratiquecuratoriale ?Lexpositionnillustrepaslatheorie,elledialogueavecelle: il s'agitdedeuxgrammairesdistinctes.Lesartistesr6agissentauxth6mesde1'expositiondanslecatalogue,maisleursceuvresn'illustrentrien: c'estdavantage]atheoriequirefleteleurspratiquesquel'inverse.UInterviewparFlorenceOstende5partacusCnetwynd.(Hermito'sUhildren,IVPilot,.2008.(lO deI'artiste)Promotionalmaterialanew mode of production that youcall the"journey-form."Could youdefinethis notion for me?ThespecificformthatImeantodesignateusingtheterm"journey-form"emphasizesthenotionofthejourneyasamodeofwriting,bynoting the many differentoccur-rencesoftravel,movement,dis-placement,wanderingortopology(whichcouldbedefinedasamathematicsoftranslation)incontemporaryart.Thejourneyconstitutesavisualmatrixinthatitprovidesamotive(knowingtheworld),animaginarydimension(exploration,whichisalsolinkedto modern times),astructure(col-lectinginformation)andaformaluniverse(thelinkingofelementsindifferentspace-times).Youare also exhibiting LiquidCrystalEnvironment,aworkbytheartistGustav Metzger, an important figureontheBritish scene. Where isthatplaced in the show?Forme,Metzger,whoisposi-tionedas akindof epigraphto theexhibition,isthegreatartistofecologicaldisaster.Inthemiddleofthe1960s,thegreatageof"explosive" modernism," hedevelopedacoherentsetofideasaboutsustainabledevelopment.Doesyournewessay,Radicant,followon fromRelationalAestheticsand Postproduction?TheoryandexhibitionMyprevioustwobooksbothfocusedonasimilar"scene,"butfromdifferentviewpoints.Radicant isacontinuation,butthistimeI lookattheideologicalframeworkwithinwhich the formsareinscribed.Radicalmeans"belongingto theroot."Thewordradicant, whichcomesafteritingooddictionaries,designatesanorganismthat producesroots asitdevelops.Itisnot arhizome,but adogged,dialogicalline,insofarasitmustnegotiatewiththehostsoil.Let's say that the termdefinesalimitofthepostmodern,asawayofthinkingabouttheorigin.Likemyearlierbooks,thisoneisbasedontheobservationofart-works-inthatsense,theexhibi-tionisafundamentalstageforme,onethatinterrogatesthetheoreticalelementsit'sbasedon.What is particularaboutthis exhibi-tioninyour careeras acurator?Ifirstbegantoarticulatethenotionofthe altermodernat afewtalksgiveninBangkok,BuenosAiresandSydney,andthoselocationswerepartof theproject.TheTriennialallowedmetouseLondonasalaboratory.It'saworld-city.Traditionally, thisshowfeaturedonlyBritishartists,butIsuggestedanotherclassification:artistsborninEngland,residentsand"passers-by."Ihavealsoextendedtheprojectintimewiththefourprologues,whichmadeitpossibletoaccumulatetheevi-denceandexchangesofideasaroundthenotionofthe"alter-modern."Strictlyspeaking,then,theexhibitionwillthushavelastedayear, fromApril26,2008,toApril29thisyear.In1996 your exhibition Trafficaccom-panied the first texts of your Relatio-nalAesthetics.Inthe same way, theTriennial isaccompanying the publi-cationofRadicant.Whataretheconnections between your theoreticalpractice and your curatorialpractice?Theexhibitiondoesn'tillustratethetheory,itdialogueswithit.Theyaretwodistinctgrammars.Theartistsreactto theexhibitionthemesinthe catalogue,buttheirworks don'tillustrate anything.It'smoreaboutthetheoryreflectingtheirpracticesthantheotherwayround.ETranslation,C.PenwardenCOPYRIGHTINFORMATIONTITLE: AltermodernTriennaledelaTate2009SOURCE: ArtPressno354Mr2009Themagazinepublisheristhecopyrightholderofthisarticleanditisreproducedwithpermission.Furtherreproductionofthisarticleinviolationofthecopyrightisprohibited.