Administrative Logics in the Work of Jo-Anne Balcaen and Anne-Marie Proulx

In reflecting on artists who address administrative logics in the arts, such irony is particularly crucial, if only because both administration and logic can be painfully boring subjects to consider. Yet, through this self-awareness, these artists call for an examination of the often-unquestioned structures within which they work, while undermining the authority that such structures attempt to project. Through a consideration of Jo-Anne Balcaen's and Anne-Marie Proulx's text-based works, Leger will explore the relationship between administration and authority, which has a profound impact on the working conditions of artists and arts professionals. Whereas Balcaen addresses the issue of status within major institutions, Anne-Marie Proulx offers a counterpoint, as she focuses on group dynamics within less-hierarchical organizations. In her recent work, Balcaen pays particular attention to these social dynamics, and her text-based project List of Job Titles by Rank and Alphabetical Order (2014) is a pointed example.