Twenty-five years later, “Global Conceptualism” still seems like an exhausting enterprise, and whenever I think about it, I feel like taking a rest. Looking back, it’s obvious to me that we were only able to do it because it was a friendship project much more than a scholarly one. In 1999, three close friends—Jane Farver, Rachel Weiss, and I—decided to organize this exhibition at the Queens Museum based on our relationships and common beliefs. There must have been four hundred pieces in the exhibition. I don’t know if it would have been possible to go through the experience together having merely a professional connection. It was more demanding for Jane and Rachel, since I was the only amateur on the team and was allowed to be a slacker.
In retrospect, there are several things that stand out. One is how the project changed from inception to execution. The first idea had been to create a Latin American conceptualist show that would explore the borderline between art and politics. Somewhat faithful to the idea of erasing the separation between art and life, the initial intention was to present examples of both activities without any particular designation. The exhibition would have artworks indiscriminately mixed with documents, and monitors with interviews presented in formats similar to video art. It was the reality imposed by the art-financing world that ultimately moved the project toward so-called pure art and a more encompassing international perspective.
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