All the Memory in a Catalogue. The catalogue and the materialization of the symbolic value of the work of art

Abstract

This text examines the role the catalogue plays in the production of meanings for the work or art. It stems from a case study, started in November of 2018, in the context of a contemporary art foundation in Lisbon, which regularly produces catalogues for its exhibitions. The argument is that the role of the catalogue must be analyzed in articulation with the role of the work of art. Being that both objects have a social role, the art objects and the catalogues contribute to the encounter between specialized agents, which share the ephemeral nature of the temporary exhibition. In this text, the encounters between catalogues and art objects are considered as producers of the cultural biographies of the work of art (Kopytoff 1986) which, once terminated the exhibition, do not always follow the same path. Additionally, the relationship between the artist’s symbolic value and the catalogue’s materiality is also assessed in an attempt to read the role the catalogue plays in different exhibition contexts, using as an example three catalogues of exhibitions which took place in 2018 and 2019. Finally, the various roles are outlined: that of the artist, the art object and of the other agents, circumscribed to their local art scene, attempting to find answers to the role played by each and the objects produced by them.