As we write this, the artworld is converging on Europe, touching down in Germany for the 12th Berlin Biennale; then Zurich for Art Weekend, before heading to Basel on Monday for Liste and the big Art|Basel main event; next, maybe a quick train up to Kassel for the opening of documenta15, if not peeling off for some R&R in Vals before hopping over to Menorca for a visit to Hauser & Wirth’s new Mediterranean outpost or ferrying to Jeff Koons’s long-delayed presentation at Dakis Jannou’s Deste Foundation on the pristine Greek island of Hydra.
Some variation of this luxury, art-world-devirtualization grand-tour far predates web2, which makes it a progenitor, along with music festivals (Grateful Dead, ICP, etc.) and StarTrek conventions, of what we think is an ascendent “con-ification” of culture. In short and to paraphrase our friend Duncan Wilson relaying his experience last weekend attending the Biggest Little Fur Con in Reno, NV, it’s no longer about fandoms; it’s a kind of religion without a figurehead. We’ll be talking more with Duncan and the rest of the channel.xyz crew about this and how its reorganizing the so-called creator economy on the next Channel Roundtable (which we’ll also share to the NM subscriber feed).
But first, back to art—as we’ve just taken a first look at the 12th Berlin Biennale (BB12) and want to share some thoughts.