Abstract
In exhibitionary spaces in modern and contemporary art institutions, the essences of artworks have often not been transmitted as they were intended by artists, but rather manipulated and controlled by the art institutions, influenced by their internal and external politics. This thesis thusly considers how the role of curators needs to be as a hinge between artists and museums from the cases of the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Firstly it examines artists’ exploration into the power structures of modern and contemporary art museums, which premise to serve the public. After revealing the relationship between artists and museums, and the institutional politics behind their decisions, this thesis introduces the counter-art movement against such forces from the 1960s, institutional critique. Although institutional critique pointed out through a variety of artworks that artists were being overshadowed by art institutions, it led to the conclusion that a museum can even accommodate its own criticism within its very political structure. This would distinguish the voices of artists from those of institutions in exhibition creation, allowing artists to transparently express their own thoughts to the public while being offered necessary support and resources from museums.
