Economies of Care (original) (raw)

2005, At the Mercy of Others: The Politics of Care

Opening on May 18, 2005, At the Mercy of Others: The Politics of Care, the annual exhibition of the Whitney ISP's curatorial fellows, chooses as its theme the many dimensions of the concept of "care" as an important social keyword. Questioning the dominant uses of the term "care," the exhibition engages a broader political context, touching on institutional care, human rights, and international aid, often revealing how power relations masquerade as care. The show features the work of Eleanor Antin; Robert Blanchon; AA Bronson; Sophie Calle; Teresa Dulce and Marne Lucas of Danzine; Alia Hasan-Khan; Alfredo Jaar; Mike Kelley; Mary Kelly; Elena Kovylina; Kristina Leko; Joanna Malinowska; Annette Messager; Christian Philipp Müller and Jane Johnston; Yoko Ono; Adrian Piper; and Ernest Truely, Danielle Brans, and Sean Smith. Each artist maps care through a continuum of psychological dynamics, from narcissism to obsession, aggression to violence, guilt to obligation. The works in At the Mercy of Others: The Politics of Care question the assumption that caring for another is a natural impulse. While rejecting the sentimental and sometimes disingenuous uses of the term, the exhibition argues that care must remain a crucial ethical concept. Ultimately, the exhibition foregrounds a human subject in need of care—vulnerable, dependent, and at the mercy of others. At the Mercy of Others: The Politics of Care was organized by the 2004-05 Helena Rubinstein Curatorial Fellows of the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program: Sasha Archibald, Sarah Lookofsky, Cira Pascual Marquina, and Elena Sorokina.