Now-Tomorrow-Flux

The category of the "museum," as it has been understood by museums of contemporary art over the last 30 years, is in need of a reassessment. The established institution with its traditional core tasks of collecting and conservation stands in contrast to the term "contemporary." This volume reflects on the museum of contemporary art itself in all its paradoxical characteristics from diverse perspectives. Over four chapters consisting of three theoretical essays and a section dedicated to discussion, questions regarding the roles and tasks of the museum of contemporary art are addressed. The anthology discusses the museum of contemporary art's double character as a site of production as well as conservation, and emphasizes its relation to different public spheres, as well as exploring the possible ways of dealing with the standards, norms, and regulations that emerge from the practices of collecting, organizing, and educating. The publication is edited by Beatrice von Bismarck, Heike Munder, and Peter J. Schneemann, with contributions from the art historians and cultural experts Claire Bishop, Büro trafo.K, Martha Buskirk, Beatriz Colomina, Bettina Funcke, Adrian Heathfield, Christian Kravagna, Oliver Marchart, Donald Preziosi, Sophia Prinz, Beat Wyss, and Artur Zmijewski. The chapter entitled "Conversation" involves different protagonists from the art field, such as Sepake Angiama, Karla Black, Zachary Bowman, Bruna Casagrande, Yilmaz Dziewior, Kate Fowle, Andrea Fraser, Raphael Gygax, Francesca von Habsburg, Philipp Kaiser, Heike Munder, Alena Nawrotzki, Lars Nittve, Bernadett Settele, Wolfgang Ullrich, Judith Welter, and Nadia Schneider Willen. Published with the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich; the Institute of Art History, University of Bern; and the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig.