A Turn to Educational Tourism

After reading Dave Beech's chapter in Curating and the Educational Turn I was left questioning the idea of knowledge and interpretation in regards to Taylorism. Beech's comment that the artist can become 'a critical escort through history, politics and place' is at odds with the belief that art is infinitely interpretable, with no set definition.

Referring to the viewer as a 'tourist' is also troubling. A tourists could never hope to understand the landscape, culture or language of a place in the same way a native would; and if the artist/curator/teacher has become akin to a tour guide, how are they deciding on the route/emphasis of the tour.

From a personal perspective, this kind of 'art tourism' has been common in much of my teaching practice. I never questioned whether this was in anyway wrong, it was how I was expected to proceed in all of the schools I have taught in, but on reflection I am forced to question where my 'tours' took the students during classes? By planning a route, what areas did I miss? What encounters were missed from following a set path of learning?

The idea of the artist/curator/teacher as guide also raises questions about the currency of knowledge. Again, if the tourist is being led through the process of understanding then we are promoting the idea that there is a correct way to understand, therefore eliminating the scope for alternative interpretations. This gives power to the intellectual elite, and removes it from the general public, thus narrowing the range of interpretations and limiting the chance of a more spontaneous 'art encounter'.