Megan Amy Scott | University of the Witwatersrand (original) (raw)
Kidd received her undergraduate degree from the University of Cape Town, majoring in English, Media and Art History. After relocating to Johannesburg, Kidd completed her Honours in Art History at the University of Witwatersrand whilst working at Graham’s Fine Art Gallery as a gallery administrator. Kidd was lucky enough to work on large South African historical art exhibitions and projects such as the 2009 Brett Kebble Art Auction during this time. In 2010 Kidd began curating the contemporary gallery, In Toto, in Birdhaven where she still works today. In 2014-2015 Kidd completed her Masters degree in Art History at the University of Witwatersrand.
Address: Johannesburg
less
Uploads
Papers by Megan Amy Scott
In this research report I look at how the Goodman Gallery has played a role in the construction o... more In this research report I look at how the Goodman Gallery has played a role in the construction of cultural capital around the contemporary South African photographer Mikhael Subotzky (1981). Unpacking Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of “cultural capital” (1986: 243), and applying it to the South African art industry, I explore the direct impact that commercial galleries have on the building of artists’ careers through acts that result in the construction of cultural capital, and in what capacity they do this.
Little has been written in South African art history about local commercial art galleries, and my interest in the role that they play in the construction of art history stems from my own involvement in this sector, as a commercial art gallery curator. As businesses, these institutions have profitable ambitions, and by successfully promoting the artists they represent, they are affecting the course of South African art history.
Due to the potentially vast nature of this subject I have chosen to focus on one contemporary artist, Mikhael Subotzky, and his relationship with the one South African gallery he has been affiliated to throughout his entire professional career, the Goodman Gallery. As much as every person’s life is different, every person’s career is different too, and in this way I cannot use Subotzky’s career trajectory to explain all other contemporary South African artists’ careers, but I do believe that the impact that commercial galleries can have on the cultural capital surrounding artists in South Africa is a topic that should be explored further.
I argue that there are various ways of gauging the cultural capital surrounding an artist in the South African art industry, and that one can look at various aspects of an artist’s career and assess their cultural capital. I substantiate this claim in this paper, and indeed why it is important to understand what role the commercial gallery can play in this construction.
It is a disaster that we shall be far more acutely aware of in the future, that in […] Africa we ... more It is a disaster that we shall be far more acutely aware of in the future, that in […] Africa we have allowed art and artists to disappear -with our hands in our pockets -without even […] taking up a pencil to write down who these anonymous artists were, how they were motivated, how they reacted to their environment, what their sources of inspiration were, what their technique consisted of, in what way they learned and taught this technique.
In this research report I look at how the Goodman Gallery has played a role in the construction o... more In this research report I look at how the Goodman Gallery has played a role in the construction of cultural capital around the contemporary South African photographer Mikhael Subotzky (1981). Unpacking Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of “cultural capital” (1986: 243), and applying it to the South African art industry, I explore the direct impact that commercial galleries have on the building of artists’ careers through acts that result in the construction of cultural capital, and in what capacity they do this.
Little has been written in South African art history about local commercial art galleries, and my interest in the role that they play in the construction of art history stems from my own involvement in this sector, as a commercial art gallery curator. As businesses, these institutions have profitable ambitions, and by successfully promoting the artists they represent, they are affecting the course of South African art history.
Due to the potentially vast nature of this subject I have chosen to focus on one contemporary artist, Mikhael Subotzky, and his relationship with the one South African gallery he has been affiliated to throughout his entire professional career, the Goodman Gallery. As much as every person’s life is different, every person’s career is different too, and in this way I cannot use Subotzky’s career trajectory to explain all other contemporary South African artists’ careers, but I do believe that the impact that commercial galleries can have on the cultural capital surrounding artists in South Africa is a topic that should be explored further.
I argue that there are various ways of gauging the cultural capital surrounding an artist in the South African art industry, and that one can look at various aspects of an artist’s career and assess their cultural capital. I substantiate this claim in this paper, and indeed why it is important to understand what role the commercial gallery can play in this construction.
It is a disaster that we shall be far more acutely aware of in the future, that in […] Africa we ... more It is a disaster that we shall be far more acutely aware of in the future, that in […] Africa we have allowed art and artists to disappear -with our hands in our pockets -without even […] taking up a pencil to write down who these anonymous artists were, how they were motivated, how they reacted to their environment, what their sources of inspiration were, what their technique consisted of, in what way they learned and taught this technique.