Abstract
The following article addresses the main themes pursued by Tania
Bruguera during her artistic research; in particular, it focus on the notion of aesthetics and the concept of useful art formulated by Bruguera in 2011 and applied to many of her projects. In Bruguera’s works, participation – even if declined in different ways depending on the case – turns out to be the necessary key to their functioning; therefore, it discuss about the transformation of the terms implying participation in relation to the notions of some theorists: Nicolas Bourriaud, Jacques Rancière, Claire Bishop. Interested in investigating the utility of art – that is, the possibility of using it as a social tool – Bruguera in 2013 created an online archive, Archivo de Arte Útil, which systematically collects all projects – from 1827 to the present – that can be considered as such. These projects encompass several themes; therefore, we conclude with a focus on pedagogy in relation to participatory art, also analyzing two case studies that were included by Bruguera within the Archivo de Arte Útil.