lesson 3

Course of Site Specific Public Art

Lesson #3

Politecnico di Milano (Campus di Piacenza) School of Architecture and Society

FOUNDATION: NEW GENRE PUBLIC ART

case histories from Suzanne Lacy essay

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Lesson #3


PRESENTATION OF THE COURSE

Instructions to follow the course:

-blog art-as-playground.blogspot.com

Facebook page: Course of site specific public

art Politecnico di Milano- Campus Piacenza

#publicartpiacenza

I send you a reading in pdf format.

This is my adress: [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]


Lesson #3


A DEFINITION OF NEW GENRE PUBLIC ART

We might describe this as “new genre public art” to distinguish

it in both form and intention from what has been called “public

art”- a term used for the past twenty-five years to describe

sculpture adn installations sited in public spaces.

Unlike much of what has heretofore been called public

art, new genre public art-visual art that uses both traditional

and nontraditional media to communicate and interact with a

broad and diversified audience about issues directly relevant

to their lives- is based on engagement.

Lacy; Mapping the terrain, new genre public art, p. 19

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Proponents of new genre public art favor temporary rather

than permanent projects that engage their

audience, particularly groups considered marginalized, as

active participants in the conceptualization and production of

process-oriented, politically conscious community events or

programs.

Kwon, One place after another: site specific art and location

identity, p.6

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-Dealing with most profound issues of our time: toxic waste, race

relations, homelessness, cultural identity etc.

- Public strategies and audience engagement important part of an

aesthetic language

-Use of both traditional and unconventional media to interact with

the public

- New genre artists: their work is considered under other labels such

as political, performance or media art and both art and society

agendas were unexplored by art criticism.


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-Alternative history of public art: development of various vanguard

groups such as feminist, ethnic, marxist and media artist. Activism in

general.

- They have in common: leftist politics, social activism, redefined

audiences, relevance for communities and collaborative

methodology.

-Art in a public interest: challenge to the galleries and museum. P.25

Allan Kaprow statement.

- The personal is political: slogan of feminist art movement, meaning

that personal revelation, through art, could be political tool. P. 27


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AROUND A DEFINITION OF NEW GENRE PUBLIC ART

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The current discourse on public art is due to marginalized artists of

last decades: a call to action p.31.

Artist responsibility: desire for a more connected role of artists. The

distance between art and society is one of the topic. P. 33

Collaborative practice: the relationship is the artwork.

To overcome the dualism of self: between the self and the others

and private and public part of self. p. 36

Engage multiple audience: viewer, create a participant, or find a

collaborator.


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The big challenge is:

how to develop a public art that acknowledges, supports and

enriches the differences while at the same time discovering how the

differences contribute to an idea of public life, a kind of common

ground. P. 39

New roles for artists: use of artwork in the social context and the roles

of the artist as an actor in the public sector.

Pedagogical nature of art : artist as educator connected to political

intentions. P. 39

When “public” is in the art making equation, the staging area is

potentially everywhere.


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The role of curators:

they must be involved in the creative process. A collaborator has a

facilitator.

Two working models:

1) you can get a large amount of input from community before the

actual making and then you take control of the aesthetic.

2) another model is fully collaborative in which you can give voice

to the community and they make the image.

Art and meanings: process as metaphor.

Challenge is the nature of art as we know it, art not primarily as a

product but as a process of value finding, a set of philosophies, an

ethical action and an aspect of a larger socio-cultural agenda.


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The role of curators:

they must be involved in the creative process. A collaborator has a

facilitator.

Two working models:

1) you can get a large amount of inputs from community before the

actual making and then you take control of the aesthetic.

2) another model is fully collaborative in which you can give voice

to the community and they make the image.

Art and meanings: process as metaphor.

Challenge is the nature of art as we know it, art not primarily as a

product but as a process of value finding, a set of philosophies, an

ethical action and an aspect of a larger socio-cultural agenda.


Lesson #3



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The audience:

The traditional audience of art has changed in several ways:

- by being placed at the center of the art making with their

concerns and issues adopted as artistic subject matter

- by reacting to the work: their reaction determining the success of

the work

-by taking on a diversified and more active role.

The audience has not expanded but has evolved.

Indeed it is a change in the composition of the audience, and their

position at the creative center, that makes the public art so new.


Lesson #3


Judy Chicago-THE WOMANHOUSE- CALIFORNIA- 1972

-Occupied and

restored house in

urban Hollywood.

Educational

activities

connected to

CalArts.

Exhibits that

shared their

experience as

women.

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Group Material-NEW YORK ARTIST BASED GROUP IN 1979. The People’s Choice, Lower East side.

-

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"Dear friends and neighbours of 13th Street. Group Material is having an exhibition and you're invited. Group Material is the gallery that opened this October at 244 East 13th. We are a group of young people who have been organizing different kinds of events in our storefront. We've had parties, art shows, movies and art classes for the

kids who are always rushing in and out. The Peoples' Choice is the title of our next exhibition. We would like to show things that might not usually find their way into an art gallery. The things that you personally find beautiful, the objects that you keep for your own pleasure, the objects that have meaning for you your family and your friends. What could these be? They can be

photographs, or your favorite posters. If you collect things, these objects would be good for this

exhibition."


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Group Material-DA ZI BAO- New York 1982

-Outdoor sit-e

specific work on

the model of

Democracy Wall in

China.

People’s voice on

Unione Square.

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Judith Baca-THE GREAT WALL OF LOS ANGELES- L.A. 1976-1984 (1 km ) p. 202

-

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Suzanne Lacy-THE CRYSTAL QUILT- MINNEAPOLIS, 1987

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Vito Acconci-HOUSE OF CARS #1 AND #2 – 1983-1988 P. 193

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Vito Acconci-MOBILE LINEAR CITY – 1991

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Joseph Beyus-I LIKE AMERICA AND AMERICA LIKES ME – 1974

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Joseph Beyus-SWEEPING UP– 1972

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Joseph Beyus-7000 OAKS– KASSEL 1982

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Joseph Beyus-7000 OAKS– KASSEL 1982

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lesson 3

Education

site specific art

public strategies

public spaces

public new genre artists

art criticism

milano campus

milano campus piacenza

society agendas