Relational Aesthetics Relational And The Historical...

Known by some as â€Å"the most influential stylistic strain to emerge in art since the early seventies† (Salts, 2008), Relational Aesthetics, constructed by Nicolas Bourriaud in 1998, was a response to artists’ desire to rectify declining social bonds and a rejection of exhibition conventions prominent in the 1980s. This essay will explore why Relational Aesthetics was created, what types of works are considered ‘relational’ and the historical context surrounding the theory. Examples of ‘relational’ art, with an emphasis on the work of Rirkrit Tiravanija, will be examined in context of Bourriaud’s theory in order to compare criticisms of the theory of Relational Aesthetics. These criticisms include: what establishes a work of art as†¦show more content†¦Due to use of the viewer as part of the artwork, boundaries between art and life become blurred, leaving works to appear unfinished (Dohmen, 2013). To some, ‘relationalâ €™ art allowed the audience to regain awareness of their surroundings and of one another, something that had deteriorated in the late 20th century (Smith, 2008, p.c23). Bourriaud coined the term ‘relational aesthetics’ in the catalogue of his 1996 exhibition Traffic, featuring Liam Gillick, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Phillipe Paranno and Carsten Hà ¶ller, among others. These artists worked within a â€Å"sphere of ‘inter-human relations’† (Baker, 2004, p.50), and works often appeared to meld into one another, as if created by a singular artist. Artists would play with museum conventions, using the exhibition as a medium, conducting experiments such as exhibiting off-site works and changing the exhibition throughout its duration (Bishop, 2012, p.207). This kind of work has been regarded as nothing new, drawing comparisons to the Fluxus group and other artists in the 1960s. Although, what may defend its significance, according to Bishop (2004), is the shift away from food as form and towards using food as stimuli for audience involvement and interaction. Bourriaud considers these participatory m odels as a