Wn., ,,,,,," . n in lroducC'J" nd ic. n)· d ifferem "'ork, n, ma hod li and chal- lellSrli !Tign;ng Icncu, In., , riunl u sk is oomplicned. ", 7j th Ihis book Ihc other authors and I hope 10 m.kc eO Bl; rne. discou rse Ih.I, ",h ile pan o f a Ihinl,or U r hitlOry, is rein"'ig onlc.! \Od. y b y Iht idulili m of )'01,1111; a" ii t) uld S1 udc:nu. The Irell\CndOlls recem inlcresl in engaged, carin« public an lkllUnds. oonlClIl in. n hUI Of'Y and prac' nt ,n ll(ISm, It demands .. well In., gukl.ancc of prcd«flson who an pus on 11.....1allo,..tn., ...hcd 10 mo\'t forw.ni, DOl wff« mdkn rn n"cntion. 1.J.kc!lv..oR it annnpu 10apb-,in. In., app roxh .. 'r 'Ii C'<>llicioud" coIl..bonu\,e. NOM of us O1"n idru. 1'hor} ' h....e VO"" OUI of a compli.:.llfti history O'\U Ihrt\' 1M .. -nun were lid«t fti of Inn. undcnund,nJ of nnou. up« u of tholl hlSiory, R. .uher th.n Simply ,01 1 ec rt indl",idu. Ur ...nlll:'l\ into .... hoIc ._c h .. ,c delibn. ltly SCI OUI 10 dlvidc and aamiM ""' genrt public an from ... rious perspeceic es, The idea for Ihe book .... cse from . prov.m ealled · Cily Sues: An isu and Urb. n Si rolle gies .· sponsored in 1989 by the C.t iforn i. College of An s.rid CDrU.' A M'r in o( lectures "'lI1 dd ive rro al nontradition .l lil ies in O . klMl d by 1 1:'1\ an il lS "'hoi.t .... ork add.csSfO a panie ular cooo mu - rncy on Jpt<'ifiC' ,"un but also stood u. proeoeype (or a ..;der nnGe of hu rmn , .... , .mi ll' lhelr ,..on: .and 1M strncglt'S tM" had dC\'doprd for ",.lehing audiences. 11Icylipoke from Ioc.OOnII d i' «1.ly linked 10 thnr commun.in or nuntr--f'rom homdns she-lie", comm unllr librutC'S,c""'retla. rrWmm.ance pr.tgn for (icy ,..or!tns. con, '.lactnt homes. ochooh, aed IIlghld"bs. TIt.ost ",ho aueeded IndvdN DOl onl) srudtnlS.and aru profeuwNb bul people from .. .. r& range o f baclr.grovttds ...ho Iud . special intcrat llll hc sub ject maUeT of lhew a.rtins. "
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Wn.,,,,,,," . n inlroducC'J" ndic. n)· d ifferem "'ork,n, mahod li and chal
lellSrli !Tign;ng Icncu, In., , riunl u sk is oomplicned. ",7jth Ihis book Ihc
o ther authors and I hope 10 m.kc eOBl;rne. discou rse Ih.I , ",hile pan of a
Ihinl,or U r hit lOry, is rein"'igonlc.! \Od. y by Iht idulilim of )'01,1111; a" ii t)
uld S1 udc:nu. The Irell\CndOlls recem inlcresl in engaged, carin« public an
lkllUnds. oonlClIl in.n hUIOf'Y and prac'nt ,nll(ISm, It demands .. well
In., gukl.ancc of prcd«flson who an pus on tU111~ 11.....1allo,..tn.,
r("l'io:-wing or dCKribt", ",d i..idu~ .uum.and to ud tonSlodmnli qun-
lions md .honK). bu l.all pb.,.o:-d a rok In W~U"ll lhe .utl>ll"hose, ,,·n..u
<11'0:" included in "'"' tornpmdium of thIS book. Rraodft'S an Ihu, INk.: theirown tonntclior» bo:-t.. ttn tM Q\·¢f"'w..·s MId spcculallons _"h", 1M es
"'yl aDd Ihe atlU<lI mmpks of .uno--orU,AlIhough fIo:";trly ninny J.n~u an: indudtd In lhe- rompmdium.
no d<IUbl m<lny"'hose- """01'"1.., mi,hl illUllr<lle- lhnt d,>cu,siotu ""e-",
mis)td. md for Ih i, . "e- whom.wr lhe final d« isions <lpoIogiu. T1K a.rtisu
selected do fil J("l e-r",1 « ile:ria: Ihc-y h.a~e- btC'n prxticins ...ilhi n thi, gc-nn:
o r public an for ,ours, m~ny fo r O' "CI'" t ..-e dlXsdc). so Ih"'l lhe-lr . o rk h aS;t
developed. mature, and o ften distilKt b nj;uasr "The-)" 1I. ..e c- ngsged br<»d.
l ~ye-rM. or at ypin l ~udiencc-' , I nd Iho:-y imp ly o r )Ule ide-as abo ul soc!..1
chsnl\( Uld inle-rution. ,\ I<»t impananl , t ho:" ~ f1 i ,u .d«tl"(\ pro' "ide:d iffe\'"
e: nt modd, of pract ice and idooktg y.
In O:-OIlsldmng whum to incl ude:, ..-e ruJiud dUI 1"101all rhe . ·ork
I1K'I our cn lCl'"ia C'\Ill.l1ly" '\li'o:- optnl to ind udc- more n l hc-r Ih<ln Ie...-er e-x '
;tmplt$. Tho:- bound ~ric:s of Ih i, e:hoic:e- ...CTt' in k«pin~ ",,"h the fIo:"""I)t$' of
the I;c-n.rc .., .. til.., lhe-e:n u.:.l1 ,,·rio ng <lboul ii, 11111 ne-<I of~" rn.lkirtg is
Rill tQO lmuu, c- 10 c:ondC'flK lbe.- ftdd of "'quill', Instud. the mmpln;(Te
IntUlI as a nftfft'lCe-. and tM re-.adcT i, in'"itnl lo ,oi n "-Ith 1M ..-ntC'n ....
ooruidmnt the coaac-.::l ion , .uodd iffc-nnc:n C'ftCompuk'd by the ..-orL
Of IWCc:uitr . the t:UI~., in Ihi, book are lpU'Ulal ;u. but 1M)' .....&11 eo
redr"," CUffe-nldc:foamnn in Ihinkinc .about pu bl '" .an .and 10 poInl oul
,ha'e bCt'n iruermlized h)' our whole ""I ture and made 10 {'tn-ade e"er~'
el'pcricme_ It is not hard to see ho.... th c , rutilu, i()l'ls and praclic« of the an
....o rld havc been moo d ed on the nme c01lfigurati\lnJ 01 powe r ~nd profil
uut suppo n and maintain our .wdet":, dom' nant "'·otkh·ie"".This ~busi
nns ~s u;"ul ~ pJ)'cho logy of affluence is ne w Ihr eatening the «<nptem in
""hi<h ""e lin with ill d)'sfunclI" nal valuts and way of life; it is a single
s)'s tem manipulating the ' ndi,·it!ual into the spiri tually emp!)' relatlon ~h,p
of the prod uccr to the productMan)' people llre a"" llrc thal tltc system 'sn't ....o rk,ng. Ihat it inime
10 m(~,-e on and 10 revise the desreucue e mylhs thai t uide UI. Our "mi re
cultu r:al philoso ph)' and iu narrowntuof «lueem are under imense sere
lin,.. Among an ists. there ;s , grealcr cri tlcal a"''.lrc~s of the rocial role
of an . and II rejcction of mOOemism'J bogus idroklgy of neutrality. Man)'
artius now n:fu)(' the notion of 1. compktd)' nareiuiSIK uhibition puc·
rice 1tJ the dffirahlc goal for an. f o r 'nstar>e". I"' rfornu.nce anut Guillerffil)
G6tnn-Pcl'ia StalCS; ~ Mon of the work I'n l dlling cunentl)' comes. I Ihink.
from the ruli7,a tion Ihat ",·e're li,-ing in ~ Jtale 01emC'1lency.... I fcd thai
mOn~ than ever V"e mUSt s~tside the Itrietl)· art areru . It is nol enMlgh
to makt' an. ~ In a "milar ,'ein , an, administrator L,nda Fry e Burnham has
<~t'd Ihu gallery an has lost its resonanc e for he,. especially gallery an
by ....h"'l she terms ~white yuppies.. ~ "There is tOO much going on outside.·
she up. - Rul lifl" is calling. I can no longer ignore thc clarno' of disas
ler----t'COIlOmic. spiritual, en"ironmental, politiul disastet-in the "" odd
in ....hich I move." Perfcl'lions such as mese are a dir<'e' cbahenge to the
.>niJt 's ncrmanve SCUff of h,s or he, role in the ""01111: al su.ke is one's
pers.on~ l idem't)· in relati.:>n to a pan icu],r "iew of life thai oer eulrure h~s
m:&dc a" .>ilahle to \1S.Thalthr ",n world's ulut$. structures, all<! beh",\',ors are in great
fermem has been "vident for S()llle time. and the d('{;onst",ctiolU of the
eight,t$ cerainue to r~ ,-erlxnle profoul\dlr f\ c!in'1X in these upheavals
....as reached for man)' with the eom ro\Cu ial l99} Bit'flnia.l ;lt the 'IX' himer
Museum of American Art-thc lin t multicultu ral "'nd poli' ical Bi( nn1al
""hith de'nonnr:t t«lthu the an world is under;;oing a dismantling of it~
profCSf ional di tiJm and Ihal ,n closed, sdf ' referential ranks are under
"
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CO N N EC T' VE "'UTHETl C S; ... .. T AfT E" I N OI V I OV "' ~I $ H } s. ~ . G~"I.*
As a critic in the ninet ies, I am IlQt ru lly intnettcd in wrineg (at~log
euays or UI reviews. Whal lam concemed with isunder5landing the
natuu"of our cullUm m~'lh) and bow lhey evolve-c-rhe instituliona l
frame....-e rk ...·e take for granted bill which nevertheless dele nni nn ou r
lives. One questio n thu has prwccup iro me, for instance, i, whal il means
to bea ~sucecssful- .ln ist work ing in lhe world toda y. and whether the,
im~ge Ih~1 comes to mind is one we can $lfppo n and believe in. Certainl y
it seems IS if that im~ge is \Indcrgoi ng a n diu l rc" 'isioning at this lime.
The dominant modes of Ihinking in I:/Of sodet)' ha"e condi tioned
us to characterize art primuilr as specialized 00' cre.llN nm fOfmoral
or prACtical o r iIOCi.ll re";On;: bUI rather to be contemplated and enjoyrd.
With in the modern eu, llrt W ;IS defined by it, aUlooomy and sclt' suffi
cierlC)', and by iu isolnion from the rC$t of so.:.iel)'. Ellpos ing the nld ical
~ulonomy of aestherics as some th ing th~t is 001 "neulral" bUI is 2011 aeli"e
~nicipan l in capitalisl idrologr has~n a pri mary aUQmplishmem of
the aweui\'e ground.de",ring work of dC«lnwuetioQ.:juIQoomy:..,....e
now $~, hI' con demned art IQsocial impo tence by turning il into jlUl
",no ther c1u s of objtCts for muketing and consumpncu.
Mani, produCliQn and confU mpliQn. eQQlp!!iti"c~rtion, and-the maximi7;ins Qf profits arc all cruci al to our soc iely 's flOlion of suecen.
These ume u , umptions.leading 10 maximum encrgy flow and mindless
wute 11the expense Qf poorer cou ntries and Qf the enviro nment, have 1.ll-O
become lhe fQrmul.l for glob~l desreucrion . An itsclf is nol some ancillary
phenomenon bUI il he1.vily implicated in Ihis idtQI~. In the an world.
...e are 111 aware of the exter a to which 1. powe!'"orielltN, bureauenuk
profe,sionalism hu promot ed 1. one-sided, cc nsumeri siic attitude reward
art. InS\itut ;"nal modd,!»sed on OOlions Q( product devejopmcm and
career 1, hie\'etnem echo the srereorypic patrionehal ideals ~nd ~ aluu t hat
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,have b«n imerna li1ed b)' ou r whole culture and nude to P'CI'\."de c" cr}'
eXf'<'riencc. It il nOI hond 10see 110...· the in~l itu tions ;& nd pr~clku of rhe art
~rld have been modeled on the $ame eonfigu....l ions of po...-er and profit
I h~1 support and m.untain our $OCi('t ~', do minant worldview.Th is "busi·
neu a~ usual" pS ~'ehologt of <lffl u~nce is now threatening the ~OI)'SI Cm in
whieh ~'e Ii,'~ " 'ith it. d\·sful1Clion.ll nlue. and W1V of life: it i, a single. .system manipulaling the individual into the spiritually emptv rclaliouship
of III<- producer to the producl.
M~ny poople are a...·are rhat the system i~II'1 working, thaI il is lime
10 move Qn and IQ revise the destructive mphl that guidt us. Our entire
cultural philosoph,. ~nd its narrowness of concern are I,mder imellU scru·
liny. Amons ani$ IS, there il a grealer erincal awareness Qf the social ro le
Qf arl. aod 1 rejection 01mod ernism'l bog us idcolog)' of neulral;I)" M~ny
anisu no.... refuse the 1101 ; 011 of 1. complelely nal"l:issistic exhibi tion pr.te·
lice af the dn ir1b1e G;Qal fOf" MI. For inslante, pcrfOl'l'1Unce 1rlist G uillermo
G6me1-Pciia Sl1les, ~ Mo~1 of the ....ork I'm J oinl; eurrentlyeomc:s . I think,
from Ihe ru li1..1.t i<>n thaI ....' ·re li.;ing In <l Slale uf cmery;ency. . .. I Ieelrhat
more Ihm ever ~'e muSt SttP<:,uuide Ihe Slrinl )' an oncna. It is oot eno ugh
10 make an." In a similar ,·...in. an, administruvr I.joda Frye Burnha m h1S
eGf~c-d that G;~llcr)' arl hu 1011 ils reson ance fQr h~ r, "sp«i111y !p ller)' aft
by ..,hat she terml ~ whi [t )'Upplcl. " "There is roo much , oing on outside,"
Ih,' uyl. • Ru l li(e i, calling. I un no longcr ignore the d~mor of J iu,
rer-c-ecceomic, Ipirilu"l, ",n,·iron mcnt:>.l. political d iu $lcr- in rhe ....oetd
in ....hich I mo.'e." Perceplion s such .l$these arc ~ direcechallenge 10Ihe
~ni, t's normali" ... sense of his or her role in rhe ~'orld: at $lake IS one's
pt'rSQul identity In relation to a f'an icular ,·i",... of life I h~ t ou r cultu re h.t!
made a,"~ ilable to us.
Tha I the an world's values, , tN eture'. and bcha\'iors are in grul
fermenl h.l$been e"idcnt fo r~e time, ~ nd the decorutruetions of rhe
eighties cQn[inue to reverberate prQflWooly. A d imu in thu c uf' he~'",ls
WI' reached for many ....ith the contro"ersial l 'l'9) Bienni1.l al the WhilneY
Museum Qf American An-the first m\llticultunl and polirical Bicl1nial
....hieh d, mOI1$1r.ttcJ thaI the an world i, undergoing a d ism~ntl inl; of its
professiunal elitism ;and thaI in closed, u lf_referent ial ranks are under
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h....,·y s,");e, Much of tM new an (ocuso On social':Teat,,"it)" rarh...r than un
...If-expression and mmn.diclS t~ myth of the isoLled genius-pn""t....
subj('(Cli,·..., behi nd c1<»cd doo rs ,n rh... studio. separate from cr hers and th...
wor ld. A.I . h,,1t arl\u " in this essay.neat i "i t ~· in the modern wo rld has
gone hand in hand .... ith iodjvidualism and has been "i"'''''n! stricti)"as an
indh'idual pn.,nomenon. I b..li......·... this conuption of an is one of the th ings
Ihal are no.... cha nging _
r As rhc work of artists ....ho an' discu s, ...d in this hook makcs d car,
th" r... is a d iSlinCl shih in 1M locus of crealh-ity from the aU lOnomous. self
m ntai ned ind i,-iduallo a new kind o ( dialogiul StnlClUU thaI frequ...nd~· is
\ no t Ih... prod uct of a singlt' ind i,-id ual bu t is the T<'$ul l of a cotlaborali,'t'
and interdependent proc ess. As anists . tcp u ut of lhe old framework J nd
reconsider whal il m.....n. to bean anist, Ih...y are ueo!'.r ruCling rh.......b
liomhip between indi,-ldual and community. between an ...ork and public.
l oo king at an in terms of KlCi~lJ?u~rather than ' :!!ual nylt'. an;<!
sett ing J high priority on opcnne ss 10 .... hat is O thcr, causes many of OUr
cheris hed nOlions to break do wn: tnt' , ision o f brisk sales , well-pat ronized
gallmes. good r",-io.-s. and a large. ad min ng audieece. As Rid u rd Shus
terman ".-nICS in Pr"gm"/lsi Atstbelics, · Th... bel lhat o ur en l'"leht'd
inst itut ions of an ha"e lo ng be...n eluisr and oppressi.·c does nOI mean
that they mUSl rem ain such. , . . Th...rc is no compelli ng r...aso n to acCCpl
Ih... narro""ly R sthctic limitsim~ by Ih... establ ished id""I~. ofaUIOnom ous an. ~
In !'ebruar r 1'J94. 1 had occasion to lapc a concers.nion wilh
rhe Ut dealer leo Castelli, in wh ich h... com mented about the Whitney
show,' II was ~ sea change. not JUSt an y dunge. B.........use I had to acccpt
Ihe f.lel that lhe " 'ondcrful days of the era that I pan icipau:d in. and in
which I had plal'ed a substant ial role. ""ere o ,·cr." In HaJ Modrm lSm
Failed? I ....r"~...j G ...neutly spea king, th ... dr n ~mics of pro fessionalize
lion do not d ispose' anists 1('10 acccpt their moral mit'; professionals H'" eo n
ditioned 10 noid thinkiog:about problcms thar do DOl bear d irectlr On
Ih";r work." Since writin g Ihis a d ecade ago. il seems as if th ... picture has
changed_Th e politics of reconccplUali~.at i on has bq;un, and Ihe se.rch
fo r ~ ne'" ~g...nd.J. for;lJl h.u become ~ conscious s..... rch.
(n cc nsidcring th... implications of this ~sea changt'. " one thing is
clear: 10 be ~ble to SCeCUlTeDl sesrheric idwlogy as aet i"d)' co ntributing to
the mOSt serious problems of our lim e m...ans bruking rhecultura l t rancc
and rcquires a chan gc of heart . The whok framework of mod er nist aes-
thet ics " t ied 10 Ih... ob ject ifring ...o os..-iollsness of the sci...m ific wod d-
';ew; lik scienlists, anists in our cultur... ha"c been ...ondilioned nol to
...·OlTy aboUl I..... ~ppl ic-ation. or con"""!I1\.".,.,s o r moral purpose of their
acti,·ily. It is cnough to g"ncrale resul ts. llul JUSI as the sho n comi ngs of
' obj« li, ('" sci...nce a....beco ming apparent, ....... ar... also be,g innin g to per
c.,;,·... 00'" the rC<! UCIi,-e and n...utralizing aspects of acsthetics and ~an for
an \ sakc·Iu,·... significan lly rcmo"C<! an from an)' li" inj\ soc ial conlext o r
moral imperat;"c eXL'cpt Ihat o f academic an history and the gallery srs '
rem. We ar... beginning to perceive how, by d isa"o ,,-ing an 's co mmunal
dimension. lhe romannc myih o f actoncmous ind i"idualism ha. crippled
art's etfeeriveness and ;n ilurnc... in thc social world.
The quest for freedom and autonomy has been nowher... b..- tte r sum~
marized for me than in Ihe!c co mments b )' the painter Georg Ih selilz,
publ ished in 1M caulog of his exhibition ..t the \l:·hit ...chapel A n Gallery
in London in 198J:
;;;... a rt;";, "o t uS/'Q",iblt' /0 ,mJone. H is wri.Jl role is .._;.,,/; hi, onl)' re,po,,
s>b,llly Ct»IJ'SiS m ." '''!lIlIae IU ,be- ......,.; be JQts. TINrt' lS" 0 rommll",c" rion
~lfb <rny p. bfic ;-.-h" I>Or.Y7. Tht'JJ'l1U u " .uk 110 qlltsriorl " d bt' m".""s" 0
J,,, t..mC7tt; '" offe.. "0 ;"[I)""..,io" . "nd bis l.-orlr U n" ot be d. Ir tJ the ""d
p Ii'hi,h "'''11/1, '" my e",e, the p,a",.....
Mor.. tlLln.J.deade old. rbese commeeis by DO'" nu.,. sound hope'
lessly OUt o f da le, bu t in a more recem 'm en 'e"'· in AJ'I Nrun. le "'as dc.ar
th Jllhc anist had i,, "o " 'ar altered his \'i" ..-s_~The idea of changi ng or
improving th... world is alien 10 m... and seems ludicro us. - Basd itz said.
"Socicry functions. and al""ars hu.. " 'ithou t 11.... ar1;SI. No arti n Ius C\'cr
changed anyth ing for bcner or ...o rsc _ ~ H idden behind these comm"'nts is
the p<:r~onal and cultu ral my th thaI h... forme-d lhc ani ~t'~ idcntit)" in th...
mOlk rn worl d : rhe myth of the solitary b'eni u<whose perf ct io n Ii.... in
absolu.... independence from the world. ~lif... i. so horribl • Gus",,-e
Fbub<.n wrote ~I th e bcginni nll of the mod ern era, · th ~t Or>c can only bear
it hy H oidin!: it. And Ihot c~ n he dun e b~' I;,' ing in Ihe world of HI ." Fo r
j ean-Paul Sanre. the e"islem i~1 tt\l lh o f Ihe human ~i tuat ion wn ilSco n
lingency, man's sense dut ht docs not belong-is OOt ncccsSH}'---!o lht
uni,·coc. Since life ...as ubitrar)· VMJ ""'Ml inglcss, Sarrre .ld,-ioed Ihn .."
must a111,,~rn to live withoul h~. ~nd th e English wrher Cyril Connoll ~'
summed up ~ whol" cu ltu ral eth os of ~Iien~l ion with these now l<lend~ry
eomm..nt~: " It is dosing lime in rhe gudens of lhe 'IX'''~10 f rom nOWon ~n
~ni Sl ""ill boo: judg.-d orl1)" by the rCSOnMlCe of his solitude and the qu~lity
of hisd<'Sp~i ,.· Wrnint; abour this form of o ntological distrusl, rhis eoee of
"no confi de ncc· in th... I.Eni,·~, Colin Wilson in A" 1",roJ" r;rion 10 Ib..
N t'MJ Exisr"'rlliaJi. m r..ref'S to the p~r.wigm of ~Iienation ~s lhe "fu l ilit~,
hypolhesis - of life-the nOlhingncn, estrJng..mem, ~nd ~li..n~t ion that
have f<lrmed a eonsi d,'r~bl.. p~n of the im~gc w.. h~vc of ourse!>"..s.
'I ~' friend P~trici~ Cmo., who t....¥I-.cs ~t the Kans.lS City An
Institut e, no... rders to Ihis pm inJ lu miOO-S<.'t U · N d mod..mism.· 10 ~
C(lu!"St" sl>.- gives <In r..rrmt ing the self. h.-r studen ts are insu lICI.-d ~00u1 lhe
d~ogerof beEC'\";ng ,h~1 hutruln~ (....helh.-r they are artists Dr nOl) a, " some
ho'" outside o f, o r exempt from, a respo nsibiHtr to rociel}" Or to the en" i
ronmem. \\:'e h ~,'" been raoghrro experi..nce the self;l$ private. suhjective,
sepJnte. fro m others ~oo the "'·0I1d. This no tion of iOOi ,-K\u"lism has so
com p!nel}'$It\letu red ~nistic idenriry md e<>1o,ed our ri.".· of an du t e--cn
for Ml anisllik.. Chrino, wbose public pm j«u such as R"n1fing Fmu md
the more recent Umbrl'lfai Tequire rhe panicipation and cooper-Ilion of
thous ands of people, inne r consciousness is still domin <lt cd by the feeling
o( being Indepe ndent. soliury. ~oo n-parate . In an intcn'icw in Flash Arl,
Christo commented:
T1H:~ ofan IS irT~ I'O'If41 ..nd~s irTft/'O.u,hlt'. ,\ -obody "nds ,s. TIN
'Or .l> IS " h"gt mdiciJ",,11SI1c gr' l"rt Ibat i. I'miul, dt'(IJ ..d by ", ... . . . 0 "..ofth.. greaUl1« mlrib" tiom ofmodlm arl i, ,h I "Olro" ofi""if.'id",,lism..
/ Ihin.l> th .. artiSIc..n da any/hi"g hI''i/,;an/S10do. rhi, i. ",'h, I ""0"1,, n"",...
"CUpl .comm iS<lo11. Ind"plndt'nCt' il mo.1impf'tr. m to me, rh.. ....."" of.n j.
" r.n..IIIM of[rudom.
"
Christo's Jele"m of freedom is ebc unw~"cring, C"·er-prrs..nt mo r..I
impo.'rati'·e I h~t continues 10 be brandished poli linlly ~$ wdl <IS philo
sophie~lIy in t il the modun mldi l ions o f Western thought. It r""erocrated
loudly in the ia rease con troversy tlut f\1g.-d for se ,·en.1yean o"e r the
pf'OpOSftl rcmo,·,,1of Richard SMn's eo mmisJionnl sculptur.. TJrt'J A rc
fro m its site a, Federal PIau in do...·mo wn Abnh~It:ln. Although co n-
cei..ed specifically for rhe site, Ih... sc,'cnry-thre..-to n Ie"ning curve of
welded sled. which '>',,, i n st~lled in 1'18 1 by rhc go\-ern mem's Arl in Ar
chitecture Progf\1m.provtd so unpopuIH and obsu-ecrive to local office
"" orkers dut rbey pelilioncd to ha\'e it I ......O\ed. A5 One ..mp1or «' of th.
u.s. Dcp>.nmcnl of Educaoon srared ar rhe tinK: - h!u.s dampened our
spirits C"'''\}' day. h has turned imo a hulk of ruSty sled and d .....lr. "11"""1
to us, il dOf'sn 't h ~" e any ~ ppe:l!. II might h~,· ... artistic ..alue but JUS t not
here . . . anJ fo r Ihose of us at the plna I would lik.-10 J~y. ple~se do us ~
b "or :>nd lakc il """~~ .•
s..rra·s response. a...ash in the spinl of -bad mod ernism.· .."s 10 Sue
the gO"cmmenl for th i'T)' million dollan because il had -delibeu td}'
ind uce<!· publ ic hostil iT)' 10 ..'~rd his ..on.. ~nd rri.-d 10 have it forcib ly
r' mo" ro. To remove the wor k, ~eeording 10 Scrr~, w:os to destmr ir. Scm
sued fo r breach of cont ract and ..iol ~t ion of his COnStilUlion,,1 rights: ten
million dollars for his loss of sales ~nd eommin;on, ten million for harm 10
his anist ic reputauon, 100 ten million in punit i..... dMlUges for ,·iolatio n of
his nghu. In j ulr 1987, the F.-dera1 Disuiel Coun ruled againsl Serra, and
in M:rrc.h 1989, the SCII lptur.. "''AS; remo..e<! (rom th... site.
'lX'h~ l the Tilu d Arc cont rO"ets)' fo rces us to cons ider is whether
~n that is ccn lerM o n not ions of PUte freedom and radical autonom y. and
subscq uendr inscn.-d into Ihe pub lic sph CTe without ,e gard fOllh, rela
rio Dship it has to other people. lO rhe community, or dn, conswef\1tio n
ncqn tl>.- purs uit o f art. un con rribure 10 t l>.- co mmon ljOOd. Me.,.,.tr to
pose thc q Ue$I;o n. howe,·c,. ind icates tb3t ""hat h:u most dislingu ished
:lCsth..t ic ph iloso ph)' in the mod ern paradigm is a de , ire fo ' art thai is
absolmclr (r.... of ehe prelensions of doing the "'odd ~ nr good . "I do n'e
kno..' ..·h~1 public an is, reaily;~ lhe: sculpto r Chris Bu,den once said. " '
jusl make an. Publ.ic an is something else. I'm not SUrt it's art. I thi nk it's
"
~boU I ~ I«'ul ~gmd~. ~ JUSt~ disin le'filcGand "n lue-fr« " scienc e oon
t~ins n<) innn , csu'lIi" t ", ithin it> mrdloOdolO\>.'· !lUI woul d linUI ....h~ t il
fed, cmirlcd 10 do , · v, llIr-fru · ~t;\Il\Ctki)m rev""l, nOlhing about tltc
limits aee should respect, or Ihc co "nnuuil}' it migln s.... ...'c.
Modcrn ist acnhcdcs. c01\(cmt'd willt ilself li S th t: ch id sourc.... of
value. did I'lOt inspire ereaive f'lrt .....i pnion~ ralko-. it "ncou u ged dis la lK
i"6 and deprecianon of the OtMr. h s n<)nrd"l ionaL nonimeracl i, 'e,
r>onpan icipalC>ry' on"m alion did DOl u si]) ac«>mmocLI .... die fl\OR" femi .
nino: 'alues of n r.... and oomfWsiort. of sc:c:ing and respondi"!; 10 n«d. Thc
notion o f po"'er Ihal is im plied b,. ..ucrti "g o nc·' indi,·idu ..Ii~' and ha" ing
une's .....y Ih ruligh bei ng in'·ulnr ra bl.... l....ads. 6 nall}'.to a deade"inK of
em pathr. Th model o f the anisl as a lon .... lienius struggling againSI society
dO<"$ nOI allo · us 10 focus o n Ihe b•."ne6"..1and ht:alin!> role of social
intcrKtion. nor doxs it tend itself 10 ....hn ph ilosopher D.."id :>.Iichacl
ind ;vid ualilit ie mJ nner ! And if 50, h.,,,,· docs th;liaffeci our norion of
"succc,, · ? Can anislS and art inst itu l io ns rcdefin.. themselves in less spa:
moriall )" oeieneed warli in order 10 regain tltc e" pe rienc.. of inrc-co nnecr
rdn<'u-.f sllbj«t and object intert ...·;ning-l.hal "'aSIOSI in d u..lisl ic
Enlightcnmem ph i1oK>phic:s, ...hie h COIISlrued the ...orld as a spccuek
10br~'rd from <Ifat" bY:l disembodiedere?
\1'11cn C alifo rni..a :lrtis l Jo nath.m 8orofsk r :lnd his collabol";llor.
ar)' G Ll5sm:l1l. lu' clcd in 19S5-86 10 three differenl prisons in C..lifornia
in o rder 10 nuke Iheir ,·ideo dOC'Um...nla~· Prison...,.,. Iher did not l!i" in Ih...
modc o f network reporters imendi ng 10 obsc -e '01 a d istance and then
describe the conditions Ih<,y fou nd . Inslead rh y went to liucn to th...
priso ners in order 10 tr y and undersund Ihri r pligh l . The" "'anled to
und...rsl:lnd fo r thr msch·cs ....hat il .......<ln510 bea pnsoner in Ih is society.
10 10k" }OIIr freedom aed li,'c " our lift' loc ked up in :l cemem box.
Borofsky md Glassman in" i\<d prUol'lr'TS to ta lk about d'fir liv<s .-nd
lI!xlut whal hJd SOIW ...rong fur lhc:m. In Ihe video SOfll\' o f Ih... prt.onen
shue poems the)" ha"e wr illen or sho ... art...·o rks lhe,· Ita"e mad e. Con
versing with the ,·ide.., makers. tit",. describe the o ppre» i..encss of life
i" i id.. a prison. whue ev...rylhin g is programmcd and i\COp1cneve r gel 10
talk i ponu.nrou, lr aboul rbemselvcs because no o ne is intere sted. Th....
r..no.·lt'dj;(' thai oor is be ing hurd. accordi ng to Glassman. crc:lICS :l sense
of cm P'J""cnnenl.
In Suzanne Lacy's TwCT]U~f Q_i!l. performed in Minn...apolis on
MOlher$lh~' in 19$7. 1Ip~ion of ...)Oo ldcr "'·omen. ...l1 d ressed in
bla...k,!hIt down logelher <II tables in groups o f four. to discu ss ....ith each
c rher Ihcir accom plishm cnu ..nd diuppointme nts, their hopes and fu rs
abour 19inj;, in a ct." remonially orche ~lratcd artwo rk. A prereconlcd sou nd
t rack of the vciees of k" emy -two ,,·om ...n <II the rables pro jeClW their
rd1 .......lio ns \Qud ...nough 10 be heard by Ih... aud iencc. ~W...·r... no IongC"l"
sill illl; Ito....... in Inc rorking chai r anti knill ing. lik... ~·ou think of grandmas
in the old d.-ys.. We gr..nd nus ~1't'II '1 doiol; th '-I <tnpoore ." com ments nne
of 1M "'·omm on lhe audiou.pe.. - I lh ink a lot o f St."nml ~· CO m<:$ from Ihr
..
f~~1 th'lI oobod~' asks r ou an ylhing, - su tl'S another. " No body asks r o u to
spl"ak. Preny soon,)'ou lose r o ur memo..,'. I s l.lf(~r a lot from peoplc 001
IUlcn ing 10 mt:. -
Empathie lislcning nukc:s room for the Othe, ~nd dec cnlulizl'f lhe
q;o-St:lf. G i\-rng each person a ..oi« is ...·1u.1 bu ilds comm unil)' and mak es
~n social!}' rn pons.i,·e. InleTKtM>n b«oma Ihe medi um of opression,:on
cmp~l hie a}· of seeing th,ough artOIher's eres.. - Like a subj«u ,'c IJIlhTO+
poologiSI.- rit es Lac)', - jthe arml enltt5] lhe tctritOf}' of the Otha'. ;and" ,
b«omt'S a cond uit fo r (Iheir]upl"ri~. The " 'o,k beco mes a ~aphOC"
fo , maliolUh ip-"'h i<;h has a hnfing po...~,.- When there is no q u;';k fill:
for some of ou r mo st prn sing soci al problems, xco,ding 10 Lacr. rbere
may be only our abilitr to ...ilAdSand Iecl the ru lil)' uking place arou nd
us. "T his feelingness U a service: lhat art ists off~r 10 the " 'orld, " she $.iys.
Afte r Mierle Laderrrun Ukeles bec ame the unsJlaried, St:lf-:l.ppoinu:d
ar tist -ie-res idencc arrhc Ne'" York CilY Sanil.w.on DepJ rlment in 1978,
she Went on rounds wilh $.lJIilalion workers and fore men from fifly · nine
municipal disericrs, talking with them . nd gelting 10 kno w them. H er firs t
p; c:c:e of an was a pcrform~nce \\'ork u lle<! Tou,h San i/alion , whi~h ....enr
o n for eleven mo nlhs. Du rin g lh.;.1 t ime she .. isitcd the five boroughs o r
K~w Yo rk and shook h.>rlds with 8,500 workers. - It " 'OU an eighl -hour-da r
performlnce ,,'ork, - she states. " J'd rome in at ro ll call, Ihen ""alk lheir
routes ....ith them" " I did a ritual in ",'h teh I bCN each p<'I"son and shook
Iht:ir hInd: and I said , "Thank }'ou Ior keeping N ew York Cit)' alive.tTbe
real a,",'ork is the h~ndsluke iudf. Whm I sluke hands ..nIh" sanituion
IIWl , .. I p rl'fCm Ihis idea and pnfonnance 10 lht:m, and lhen. ill ho"'lber
r<'Spond, tlvy fin u h theart.- TQMcb.tvr" "llOn ,.·u Ukdrs 's firsl aucmpt
10 commu llieate as an artisl: ,,' ith lbe ,,·ork cn. to o vercome tw-ricn ando pen lbe ...~}" 10 undersunding-to bri ng aw~rcnns and a.ring in to her
K lions b) list eni ng.
I\n tlu.l is ' OOIed ;n ~ " Iu lening- §clf. thai cultin lO,"$ I.... intertwin
ing of §c!f and Other. sl.lggcsls a flow -through experience ...·hich is not
delimired b )' Ihe self but utends into the eommunitr thrccgh modes of
reciproc al emp~th}-. Beeau:sc th is an is listee er-cc ntc red ""t her th :>.n vision
ori~Olcd, il n nnot be fl.llly re~li:ud through the mode of sclf-Cl'preS$lon: il
"
can onl}' come inro its o....n Ihro",gh di..l.IOj;U<'.,u OJ'C'n con'·crsat ion. in
..·hich 011(' linms to and includes other "oitts, For ,""n)"artists no ..·• this
moe"nsln ting pfC\;ouslr excluded groups Jpc'ak dim;t1r of thei r 0 "'11
expeneece. The aud ience becomes an KI;\"ol' eomponem of I.... ,.'o rk and ;s
pan of the proeess. ThislutminJjorient~lion ch" lknge, Ihe domin:>.Ot
oculan:emric tradition.. which sUSbCS!s llul an is"n ....pcricncc anilabl.e
prim.a.ril) to 1M "re, and represents ~ R':>.llhifl in paradigms. As D~vid
M i<;Jud l .:>;n Sl.lt~ in MoJ""lty ~mJ tbc Htgtmony of Visioll, -This mar
be d w: timc-. the appropri.l.t., hisloric~l molTlCnl. to encouraJ;C J.IKI promolC
a shift in parad i\!:ms. a ~ul rural drift Ih~l, IIIsome ClClent, St:C:II\$ alrcJ.dy 10
be I~k;ng plJ.e e. I am referring, o f course, to Ih" d rift from s«ing 10 IlslCn
ing, and to Ihe hismrinl porcneial fo r a pa radipn shift displacing visio n
~nd inslalling Ih" " ~rr d ifferent influence of li, t"n ing.-
New models pUIforward by quantum ph)'sl",s. "col~ " and srstem~
theory that define th e wo rld in lerms of interact ing processes and relati on :>.1
fidds c:>. 11 for imegrat in ' modes of Ihinking th~t focus o n Ihe rehricna!
nature of re:>. litr rath"r tha n o n d iscrete o bjects. b cy states . - " oeu. ing on
aspects o f int<.'rJ.Clionand rcl:>'lio nship rath~r than on an objects calls for '"
ndie~l rearrangemen t in our cs pectariore of whJI an :>. n ist doa.- (I 0.1Is
for ~ d ifl'erc:nt approa~h 10 making an and l'\"q llires" differem seeof skills.
To rra.,s.cend lhe moderniSl. ..ision -<cm~rcd pJ.radigm ~nd its spcct"to ri,U
epislemology, ,.·c neN a rdramingp~s thai """l ei SCTlSol'of this mo re
interacli'·e. intersub jCC'l i"e p ract ice ...hi~h is cmcrginS- We u nnol judge
lhe 11<:.... m b" lbc o ld standnds.. -'nformed by an iOlctacth'e ~nd re:c:.cpli>....
nornu lh;tr.li~teni ng genmtO" a ,....ry differenl q1lJtem~ and onlolog~'-J.
"C'ry d iffCi"C'nl meuph}'sics,- write LC\;IL
Modcm ism's confroo u lional onellu lion , nulted from deep habils
of th inki", tlul SCt in oppos ition society and the ind i"idll"l ,u 1.....0 COlI
tra,) and anuto"i$ l i~ Categories, neil her of ...hic h coul d apand o r de
\'dop n;~cpt al lhe CXpn1St: of the ot her. Thc Ieee ~nd .self·sufficien t indi
,'id l.l~l lw loog be:en Ihe ideal of Ol,Irrollll re. and ~" isIS cspcci~lI~' have
seen themser.-csas q uiarcssemial free agC'nl$. pursuinJj Ihcir own ends.
But if mod ern ism, and Ihe art lhat emCIl.ed ", ith it. d.:>-dopcd ~round thc
nodon of " uniqu e :l.OO separate self. the an genel'iltcd by whn I ha"e called
"
· ,.
· co nneai'·e ...othetiC$· is ,·el)· d ifferern . As I ha"e ...rgu...d in The Rem _
cb">ltment of An, radic al rd.at~ncss hAS d ramat ic imp lic...t ions fo r ou r
undees....oding o f an and ccmeibetes 10 a new COI'I$Ciousncss of howlhe
self is to be defined and experienced, For one rhing, me bou ndu r ~·«n
self ;rnd Othcr is fluid rasher (lun fixed: Ihc Other i. included within 1M
bo undar)· of sclfhcod. We arc u lking about a mere imersubj""li'·e "crsion
of the . elf that i. muncd 10 Ihe interrcl ... riorul. ecological. and im eracti,'e
chataeler of realitr. · Myself now includes the ninfore5', ~ "..riles AU5tU
lian deep ecologill John Seed. ~ It includes d ean air and wat er.~
T he mod e of distanecd. obj,x ti" e knowing, ....", ovcd fro m moral o r
social rcspon~i b ilil)'. has bct,n the animaling mOlif of bolh science and art
in the mod em "'·orld. O bjecli,·it )" Slrips a......>' emo tion. "'am s only the
facts. and i. detached fro m fuling. Objccri"ily sc...... as a d isuncin~ de
viee. presu ming a world Ihn SI...nds M orc us 10 be scen. su...·e~·ro• .and
manipulated. Ho ..·• then. Ull we ,hift ou r ustf:j,( " 'ay o f Ihinking abou l an
so thai it b«omcs more compa.s. io ru.tc ? Ho w do " 'e achiC\·e Ihe • ..·o rld
,,;,..., of atUchmenl "~1(:;IChmcnllo;rnd co min uiry wilh 1M world_luI
archnn>al p'~'chologist Jama H illman u.Iks about? To 5« our inlCrd~n
dellCe;rnd irneeccnnectedness is Ihc feminine perspective thaI has been
missing no ' only in our sci,:mifie Ihinking and policy making but in o ur
a... thetic philo.oph y as well. C are and compassion do not belong to the
false ~objeel i,-i.m ~ of Ihc disintc n,slcJ gne; CMe and comp~"ion u e rhe
tools of the 'oul. bUl the}' are oflen rid icule'llb) ' ou r sociely. which has
been wcak in Ihe ('mpathic moJc. Gary Zu kav p UIS it well in The Sr"t 4the Soul, "..hen he States that there is currentl y no placc fo r spirituality, or
Ihe m ncctnSof the heart, ""ilhi " science. poli ti~. business. or acadcmi... .
Zu lu,· does n'l menti on ...n , but un.i l r...,..ntly Ihe re h..... b«ll no panleular
r« cp li,·il}· tMe eirher,
:"oiOllong ago. I had occasio n 10 .lure ... lectu re podium ....·itb lhe
critic Hilton Kramer, ....·ho proclaimed, ...ilh 1M fo rce o f a I~'pboon, thaI
...n is al il. besr ...rhen it K!"O on h· itself and 001 5OfI1e Otherpu~.
Thing. Ihat in hi. opinion ha"c no I'<'Lation 10 ...re arc now bc-ing "'''''Pled
and legitimizro as an ,,·hen. aeeonling 10 Kramer, an is incapablc of solv
ing any problcm. bUI a"'Slhnie o n...... I would a'l;ue tha' m""h of Ihe wor k
..
;lIdud~ in .his book couresdices, a!>wluldy. th~ rommCnl..s. 11,, " 'C\'cr,
.herc i. no den ying Uul t1.., .m voork! subtl y disappro"cs of ..n in. ",,1>0choose ;"fen ct;On ;lS thC'ir mnl.ium. r.llh~ dun tM di~mbod ied ~·c. JUli t
... aut;,-il} in rhc 'il,7cs1crn world has been based on an undcnl:;mding of
UKself AS ;IUIOnolllO\lS and~mll.·. •he hegemony of Ihe ~'C is "cry
strong in our culture. We ar.. obsessed ...ilh rhc gu e. Al lhi. po int, [0
challenge Ihe ,,;. io n-"'nlrrnl pand igm by unde rm ining th.. p resumed
spccraro rial diStance of .he aud ience, o r br empowering others and m;tking
them awarc of their own crea li,-ity, i. tn risk the co mplaint thaI o ne i.
produci ng not art but . 0<:;..1work. Persona lly, I h"vc ne "Cr heard of ~
social " 'orkn who was interested in sha king h"nd. with 8,500 unit..t ion
",orker \, or w·ho uied (0 orchCSlf:llC a public con"<'rs"tio,, among four
hu ndred olde r " 'Omen about ...ging. Soci...1wo rkers proceed qui te di(fCT
entl}' from anists in ,,-Iu t , her do.
To all the'S<' obj«ooM, I e...n onlr $.I} ' W I romp,Jring mod els o f ,he
..,If based on iso....tion ...nd on connecte'lln.ess hAS gi"m me'" differenl sen~
o f m Ih...n I had bd"o",.and hAS cha nge'll my ide,lS...bou t whal is ;mpo n u ll.
:\i v concl usion is tlut ou rculrure's rom ... nee ...ith ind i.-idualism iJ no
longer adequae. Mr 0"'" ..·o rk ...nd thinking have led mc to a ficld like
co nccpt ion of the self tlut ind udo mo re of the en, ironmcnt-a sellhood
that releases us inlo a ..,nsc of our radic...l rd... redness. It s«ms , hat in
many spheres we ha'·c finally come up against the limiu of a wo rldvie...
based nnlr on individualism. In the field of pSj""hothc.-apy, to give ju>! one
c~ amp l e. James H illman. in his boo k U',, ''Ve Had .. Hun dreJ YPd YS of
P.)'chotm·rap)__lt nd the '(f/Qr{J ', Gclti"8 Worse. eastig... res therapy for
enco uraging us 10 di..,ngage fro m the wo rld. Hc maintains that then py
inc.........." our pl'C'OCcup.auon with indi vidual fulfillmcm ...nd perso nal
gro"'1h"'l tM cJ:pt'n~ of any coneet" for communily Or rhe communal
good. ~bny h.lCkln h..."c been raisedin tM thera.peu tic communit>· b >'
H illm.an·s assenion that therapy Ius b«o mc ... sd f- irnp1"()\'emcnl philoso
ph>' ..·hick turns us in"'ard, a....y from tM ,,·orld ...nd ils problems. Ps~ '
ehOlMapy is on ly ..orking on the - ins,de· sou l. according to H illman.
while outside. the buildinp. Ihe schools. the streets. ... re .ick-Ihe sickness
is out there. The pat ienl in ncro of healing is Ihc world .
"
Conn ective Iodthnics st rikes ..r tbe ~~ of Ihis ,1.licn:l.lio ll by dii
wh;ng the mcd und di" isian bet...·"'" s.elf .>nd worldIh,1.1 Ius p revailed
during the modem tflO'"h. World ht ,1.ling begilU .".jlh the ind ivi du..l ...·ho
...·ek QrnC$ the- Other. In U kdn·s ...·o rk. lo r instance , em p:>th)",1.ndhaling
..rt the parameters, rhe ln t of ....beth er the ""o rk is. in f.tet. bting carried
OUI p.1r,1.d igma tin ll )". The ope n hand . cxeeaded to N ch ....orker. t',·o l,,:,
qu alities of geneTOiil)' l nd c..re. We need 10 cuhivaic rhc co ropessionate,
rcbtionll self as Ihorough lr.t s w.. ha,·c cuhivaeed , in lon g r<"aN o f abstract
thinking, rbc mimi gc..red \(I scient ific and aesthctk ncutmlilV. Ai more
peop lc ,1.ckno wleJge the need Ior a new philosophical fnmcwork. ' c .u".
learning to go~~'ond our eu ltu re o f sepual ion-lhc gender, class nd
racial hicrarchin of ..n elise \l;'eil cm Indition th..t has C"o'ol"cd through,1.
precess of exclosion and neg..t io n.
\\T,th its focus on rad inl ind i. 'id u.llism .tnd iu lWllci,ue of k«ping ans.ep..rate from life. modem ..~the1: ics d rcu ms<ribe:d the role of Ihc ..uu iomu
10 [lut of .. d n adwd spec tatcr-cbser...a . Such ..n u n eeves-build ccmmu
nity. For this ....1.'eeed intt u ni"e .tOO d i..loginl pracnces d UI un wO lhtrt
into lhe pro«:ss.md ehallenge lhe n(>lian, in the ....crds of C..ry· Snyder. thaI
· only some people arc ' u lenlcd ' and they becomeartists and live in San
Francisco workins in cper..and ballet and the rest of us sho uld be salisfied
with walchin!; television .W Conncet i"'" .t~ l hClin sct'SIhat hum..n nature is
deeply embedded in the world . It makes art imo a mood for connectedness
and huling b y opcnin!> up be ing to its fu ll dimensio nalily- nm jus rr he
disembodied eye . Scxi~1 CORtn t bec:o m.., ~ co ntin uum fur inleraclion. for ;l
p rocds o f rel" ling .1nd weaving l o!;nher. cfe~ring a flow in ""hich there if
r\O $p«talo ri.11 d isl.ln«. no :lnu gon istic imperui,·e, bu t "'ther the rrc ip roc .
il)' we find ~t pl.l) in ;an ecosy stem. Within .. lilleMN-tntcrcd pn;adigm.. the
old IpolX"iaIiz.u iolU of ~ 'Iisl ..nd ,1.udi .....cc.crru h ·e ..ocI uncrn t i,·e. profes·
sional ;and u np roffi$ion..l-cl istinaions bct...·«n ",·be> is and who is not :>n
m in-brgin to blur.To foll()~.. Ih is path, I would argue, i$ mou Ihan jusl a matt er o f
prrson:>l taste; it rcp rcscnlSthe opening of an c:o:pn;menl:>1spur in ....hich
10 inst iru tco and practice a nc ...' art lhal is more in IUIIC ....ith the m:>n)· inter-
..
act ive and ecological models emerging in o ur ealru re. I bcliC"o'r we ....iU see
over the nett fC"'· deeedes more art thn is tsSrnlii! I~' sceial and purposd"ul.
:lndth~t rejects lhe modrmist m)"tM of aUlOnom}' and l\C'Utra lil)" This
book bun ...-irness 10 the incT'l'aiing nu mber of anislS ...."0 are rejectin g
the p rod uct o rieeuarion o f consumer cultu re ,loti find ing e,·e. mort re m-
prlling r s of ...·u ,·ing en " ironmcntal 3nd socii! rrsponsibilitr directly
into their o rk. l n ehis complex and ...-on hy endeavo nl sincerely wish
funding for projects; me..ting fo r ",hal S«lIlS like ~o entire lifetime with
Jnistic colb oon ton ; addrnsing com munit}' pMt"ip~m,s Jnd rdcmln.l )"
nllying tnnr internt in the proj«t; getting no funding ~t JIl. o r JUSt
enou gh to pr~Jlt only h~lf of the e-welened proj«t; tD«[ing apin wilh
CoIlJOOnlO.... abouTthc meeting 00 the meeting; encountering [hose critin
who themsel\'es have nul decided 10 be imJl:iin~ti\'e in their o wn ....ork;
Jnd, last but not le~.t . ocvcr finishing because we are still Jctiw ly listen ing
to the community's response and rerruining ..,nsiti,·c to the soun d. and
feelings in borh th.. inner ~nd outer life.
To be an anist amid u l tM:sccurTenUi. dcrrund ing. H o. · is the
~n iS1 to prq>are? Dc-'dopmem of o ne's mfl and k« n awarcness of onc'.
surroundings are imporrant but ~re harJTY eno ugh, To be able to make
tml)" " isionarr J r!, we an isrs musr hJ"e in Our lives the croeiJl dement
called drcam time, that is, t i",c when we leave this world and gl' inlOOur
own sacred .p~c.... seeking thc grJCe needed to c!'eJte our " ..nrk. Drum
timc holds thc lurmoil and trauma of rbe world al bay and allo.·s the
vision 10 be gran rO!d and 1M nc:Uing nores [0 altunt "'S.
Some sound I....-cls in the "'orld's chaos no bc dcafening. Our "-ork
in the OUIe.- terrain c:loD becomc SO demanding Ihat " 'e think ....e c~nnol
stop 10 meditJte. BUI this deliberll" pausing i, Jim pan of our wo rk, ~nd,
in rel lity, it m~r be rhc o nl)· Ihing that diStinguishes us from rhose com
munit), members who 5im pl~' cannot make Ihe rimc 10 llkc rhis inner
sp~e,.,. Yet Iher arc depending as much on us 10 Mar rnc ulls ~nd 10 sound
1M first responses as "'C He depend ing on rhem 10 form ~ eborw for the
song in order 10 release thc h......ling and nu.gnif~· the[ruth. And :t$ odd .... it
ml )" sound, tbi . is [he nalive territo ry of Ihe public ~ nisr. h is ~ 'p~ec to
which Ihe community. time ~nd lime again, banish es us for it. O"'n HI'l'
t;on, a spu e thaI we o urseh'C$ e"enlll~ll)' choosc as a healing h~"en and
h~l1o,,'ing ......'·e. The soul. ~ difficult bUI necessarv terrain of Teneat, holds
the blueprinl. or one mighl Sol)' the "bhres-prmt ,"of I~ ...orld "'e inha biL
"
fO " • • <;~ ' 00 f~ ( <;0 0 0 . " " ..
11>oughth,., eocounrer with d ru m time i. enli,·ening. it e:tn also be
frightening. Thc problem is not our dcscen[ into the wul; it is our emer
genc", or coming forth, O nec we emerge, we must begin reco nciling wb~t
V"e hJ\'e come to know ....irh what we still sec in the world. W... lell our
.\.ekes rhere is no rime 10 relreat; we tell ou r..,"'cs anything to k...,p fro m
rcpeal in& rhe ritual o f departure. But if " 'c do suee...,.) in a,-oiding furur,.,
descenu imo Ihe soul. "'e ..,ill more [han likdy fall into rhe Irap of m~king
an that is simply creari"e f"Jlhc r rhan [ rul~' ,·isioll.1f)'.
Thcre is, indeed, ~ dist inction betwccn ere~t i" e art and " isionary an.
lt pJ.raHeJs the d ifferencc bel"'een the aniSf who is In observer, or reporter,
J"d one who i , a panieipanr ill rhe creJti"e process-~ matter of invest
ment or soul in"oh'emenL Quire simply. the visionary artist h.:t.s root
mcrel~' sighl hut ,-i. ion, rhe lighr rbe soul makes 10 iJlumin:l\e the palh for
u• ..Il Th is norion of the ,-isioll.1f}·being apar1 from life. going inlo his o r
hcr d re~m sp~cr. is nOI Srnon)'mous ....ith Ih" Western notion uf thc
mysric 's ~pat:\t io n. Th" "is iou ry anis r in the com munity work. in the
fields of Ihe personal self. dreaml time ...,d engagemen t with Ofhers.
All artists arc able to d isplay thei r craft wirhoUll h... exenion and
engagemenr rhn marks a pcrform n« fro m the soul. An l niSI Can simply
projcct his o r her persona "'hile rCrrWning dn a.chrd fro m [nc, performance
and Ihe audi...nee. But if ~-ou are • ..·orking the sounds ~_ if you M '" in
"okc<l in something Ihat engages ~ ou; confront ing you r own prejudices.
fears. and limillt10n., rarher tb Jn merely present;ng whlt you ~ I read )'
know; feeling ,"our o,,"n discomforr and tak ing that discomfort imo the
terrain where rhe tr uth exposes you -Ihcn you arc quire ponihly in the
lerri [O!}' of the "i5ion. You ar'"<:10se 10 grasping 1M mystery or rhe heu
ing. You arc then. on ly Ihell. • -ilhin reach of the gift Ihal }'ou can bring
back ro Iht .-orld.
Once you ha,·t glimp.ro rhis \"i510n. ,hcn yo",are indeed a partici
pant. And thc dua lify berwcen vo u and r our a",dience. you ~nd your
work, becomes an illusion. And you have wrille t' " poem. You hHC don t
a perfurmance. You h~ , c cnfleshed Ihe hc~utr. Yo u Iu" e mad... it matter;
And rhe community, u king pMt in the an. eomplcrn Ihe lUI line of 1M
blues ref.....in. inilialing I new rC2l il~ .
"
~ " .. ," ,
FI\OM A~l · MAG E DO O N TO G I\INGOH I\O I" A') C" iI1",m~ (;6 "'U.P<ii~A MANI fESTO AGA IN ST C EN$0 1\5>11'
Etlill>" s note: Origin" lIy p" bfi.h..d ;,/ J'J9J, l fJiS " mele has b<m ,lightly 1(>
"'iud. One 1<;llOJl, wh'cb!rx"iCd On Ihc /hen-"/KMning q" im:enrcn"",l cet<b,.lIit", ofCo!"mb", ',I"nding, f:''',' dimin4.u J. In "dJil>on, /W O n tra;li r"''''d /"te, dtriae. '£o...th \rot/d "n d Otlu . UlIJp;'''' C"rtog,,'phirs," h..~'l! iKm
mc/HJd"r Ihe md 10 exund the deb"u .
l I\A C", I : Fl NIHC U LAI\TE
/ SOHndb..J ofG'('go,i"" "hdtll!
We encou nter the nOJ[d ecade of tho:' twentie th ccmur)' with gre~ t perpk v
ity. Unp l'l.'Cedentcd cha nges in the " 'or[d have u ken place in the p~~t Ii,-e
r eus: from Tiananmcn Square to the Persian Gulf and from Berlin to
Panama City. we all felt the o"erw helming b irt h pains of ehc ne,,' millen ·
My genera tio n "" as bu m and raised in a worldof multiple crises and co n.
rinuo us fragmentat ion. Our curreOl li,'O' are Iram,><I by the .i nisur Ber
muda rr;ang lc of w. r, AIDS. and recessio n. Weseem 10 brcloser than ever [0
the end, and precisely bttause o f this. our actions have twice a$much m~..an.
ing and moral weight, lho ugh perhaps fewer repcrccssicns.
Our fragil" COntempo raries arc searving, migra t ing. and d ying at.
,. <"t)" you ng age. and the ~rt we u e making already reflects lhis sense of
em"rgeDCY· BUI it is nOI "nough juu 10 make art. We mUSI step omside of
Ih" saf"an arena and an"mpl lOrecap ture OUr stolen pol itical " 'ill and
mutilated civic self.
As tht ninn in unfold. U.s.ani5ls.. lUlrural organi urs. and inld l« ·
tuals must perform cemral ro les in rc-making socitty. We muu fine-tun"
OI.I r multi ple roles as in tercultural diplo mals.. bo rd"r philo.rophers. chroni
clers. and acti"isls fo r world glasnos t and local gringosnoi.ka.More than
e,'cr, we mUll pr.ct;' .... promOle, and demand access, tolennce. dialog u".
and reform.
We mUSt speak wilh valor aud e1~ri t y. fro m rhc nrw center, ne t the
old marg ins, and we mUSI do it in l a ~e.se:ale formats and for large and
dive rse aud iences. We must uS(' public-access TV, N ational Public Rad io .
printed media. video. film, and fax art. \I 'e mUSI uke ad"antage of high
l«!mol,,!:Y· \1'e must redefine and expand the :leli"i" legacy of the late
eighrin 10 form mere im"rlUlt ural eoll«ti'·n, eomputn- d ala banks.. and
publicalions linking '-;u;ous armlic. po litical, . nd med ia communitin
witbin and outside the C6UnU)·.
\\?e mU51 dcf"nd Ihe sunival of the an ""...-ldas a d emililarized ZOne.
'\r"e must continue to suppon tbe communit)· C(,OI"""and the altematl"e
sp~ces , hat ar" rot ~n tiall ~· facing "" t inct ion . Large irmirurion s muse tl"}" 10
'"
kccp the snuner ones fmm , inking, fo r wilhout lhem, the large inslit utions
wouldlese their roots and their seeds. Successful painters mi~h t comc m
pla te donating ihc proceed, from the sale of an artwork 10 a co mmunit),
center or a.n ahe rna rive spuc. ln w me CU6, one pain tingor sculptu re
mighl !Kenough 10 pa.)' forsenral mo nths of opcntiona..l apcmcs. If some
of Ihe smaller spaces nnnOl surv;"e the crisis, ""e mu,t dn-elop diHc.-cnt
modcls that respond 10 the ne" condi tions o f cultural em"rgenc)'.
We mus, li$[en carefully to other cultu res Ihat ha'·c a long hi, tory o f
facing rep re~si on. censorship, and exclusion. N at i"e Americans. Lat inos,
African Americans. and A, i:lJ\ Amt'riu ns have becn fighting t ht'~ banles
Ioe «nturin .We mUSI r"bu ild communi ty through our an, fOf" ou r com munilies
have be=. dismembered. The insidious colonial tendClK;es th.>.t " ·e ha,·e
internalized-and thai <:JIprcss rhemselves in sa.diSiKcomp"tilion for
money and attent ion, po litical can nibalism.~d moral di. trust-must be
o\'e reo mt'. We must ru l i ~ e thai we dre not each other's enemies anJ ,hat
the true enemy is currcntl)" enjoying our divisiveness.
We must d ialogue and collabo rale ..-ilh an;sts fro m ot her disciplinC$
and nhnic communities. as ...·ell as ....ith politOcal acl;yis ts. educators, Ia...••
vers, journalists. cultural cril ics, <>od social scient ist5. The old schism!K
tween ..rt i. lSand academic, mU5l !K resolved once and fo r aiL '1);'.,must
come 10 the realiulion that we hdVC ~en equallr m..rg;n..lized b y socicty
and that therefort' we need on e another, ,\ <tists nea! the i n tellect\l~1 rigor
of acade mics, mel ther n«d our . ki lls to populariu issues. Academics
have access to more cnensive info rmation, and ...e h..vc acces, to more
d ivCf'SC audiences. Togeth«. "'-ean d",·clop .. na. io na..l consensus of prio ri
ti("j[ ~nd s.u.egi es for the ne.... decade.
Some people u y that the n;ne.i" ...-ill be · ,be decade of the en,·;ro n
ment,~ and I wish with all m,- heart they n e right, but, as pcrforma nce
~rl i st Ellen Scb~"ian say~ "We, the human beings, are the ultimate em·i·
ronmenl.· From Sio Paulo to Baghdad, and from So"'e' o to the Bmnx, ', "e
arc a fau~ in d anger of <:JIl inction. Our n;osysICms" the d eteriorata! mul·
tiracial cities ..e inhabit, an: part of the IU.lUte " 'e must saH, If we don',
".
save the human !King ..nd hi,ther eo ncentr.ua! hahitat, " ·e ","o n' t eyen behere to ","i t n e~ s the extinction of the great whale and the Califo rn ia condor.
In lime~ such as these, nationalism is no longer useful. The survival
of rhe hu man sJX"' ies is ~ Concern to all com muni ties. As respo nsible an i. u
o f this cnd-of· tbc-centu,) soc iety, ...-c m c sr challenge the anachronistic
l1OI:ion that Qys; ..e are o nly me""IIO " 'orlt " 'ilhin ou r p..nicular ethnic,
pol iTical. or w :rual eo mmun;t;es. s,ried r an contexts, or marginalleflist
milieus. Our place i. the ....orld-in-dolnger, a, big as i, can be for cach o f us,
and ou r communitie, have multiplia! expo nentially_Rega rd l es~ of age,
race. gender. metier, or na tion~l ; tr. ~ nr ,",,;all)' respon~;b le person-nOI
jus t m i' lS-from ,h is Or other continents ...·ho trul)' believes in and prK
rices CU ilUralde~' and raci..land sexual <'qui!)' must!K considered ..
member of ·our- com munity.
P..""IIc1 to this majo r protect, .. much more private. but equally
important , path must be pu rsued : the human i?:..t ;on of our person..l un i·
'·efS{'. We must lu rn to take good care of ourselves and our loved OnC5. Ifwc are nor responsible and Im·ing fri" n<I s, sons and d aughters, puent"
lo,-ers. neighbors. and oolleague... how can ."e possibly be respo nsible
citizens at Inge ? If ",e don 't rcoplure Ihe necO:SS.if)· ,imc and personal
race, class, and ~ge. An ~byss-noc I borderlilloC'----'5cparates u. from ou r
chi ld ren, Ollr teClu gers, ~nd ou r ciders. The Cclur obiae legacy of divisi,'c
ness i. more present than ever. Thi, i. co ntemporu r Amerira. ~ land of
such di"crlity ....he"' nOone toleralC'S d ifferencc, " bnd o f such bizMre
eclecti<ism ..·hCTC ("\-el'}'one mUS' kno .... hislhcr pbce. Her~ <lMistsandacn ..isu spend more time co mpeting for ..tten.>On and funding thOUl esrab
lishing emlitions "" ith ot her ind i" iduals and grou p>.
C hic.no theo retician Tom~s Ybarra-Fuusto su ggests t h ~ t in the
nineties " 'e muse resist aU at tempts a.t int..rcu lt ll r~l ,,"'~rf;lrc, and I com
pktcly iubscrib.. 10 his call. In o lder to~n the gre.l.t pro}cct of racial.
gender. ;lIK! gellCTa.ional rcconcili~I>On. ..-e must.ign a Innporary rca.ce
tTC.lt )·. Perhaps the key here is the recognilion Ih. t we all arc pan ially
guilty, and (h. t most of us arc pan i~l! r discnfrrnc hised . At least ~mong
ourselves. like in a family rl."tlnio n, .... e must face these issues fro null l' but
cuhuraJbxkgrounds to cru,. a mural on lhee non..-hile M oon ' of Califor
nia, 10 Micd e L:a<lrnmn Ukeles's wor k ""ilh lbe N.,..· York City Sanilation
Depar tment exposing how "'e mainuin ourselves and m~nage ou r waste
(and wilh whom); from John ~h l ped e 's ~ rnall - _,calc examinations of
hOlnelessncss 10 Ncwton and Helen Ma)"er Harrison's large.scale en"i ron
menul,.,.cue ~ttempts. Art iSlScn'-;s;on (<I verb lhal embraces a noun) ~
praces. Ih.:.t rcsu]Ui in an ~n"·ork.
WoHH W! "''1
I've been struggling "'ith these queslions for a long time. In 19671 wrote
th~ 1 visual art "'~5 hO" rring at ~ crossroads · that ma)' well turn out to n.,t....o roads to one pLacc: an "s idea.and an as action . . . . Visual art is still
,isua! e..-rn ,,'h.n it is in,'isible or ,-isionar)...· " In 1980 I ...·role:
,,.
.00< "" " ou~o W_ ... ..., ' " ....... WI CO ..., ,, "
Any ,,= lund of ~TI p•.uri""is f oing /(J h.....,. 10 I"Ju puu "1/~" 11 ptl-ni.Jl.,
oUlud~ of Ih~ ~TI u'orld, And b~rd "s ,I i.,o r$(J.hlu b onr..,lf i" Ibr ..n "':orl,(
Irn rirrum,CTibeJ !Crrifo,;," dr. ../1 Ihr rn rn-e fraughl ",-jlh p. ril. Oulf/uT!,
rno<l 4. riJu 4r~ ".;rberw~ltome "Or "ffrni,,~, h", '" h..' r u " polrn fi"lIy
.../footfmg(V(l)O" IN ;::bleb " 1T;"I ...e dr/"ded m' o f reb..g Important for dOing
onl, (;"b.., i, u;~"rtd oft«m. \t~ ronlin"e 10 Ittllt ..J,o. t ."..... form. - baa"..,rhe ..~:: b~J bren ,be fC'mlizinr fm sh of 1«'""·....I _g.m/~ ,lifer /I dtf4~b.ed ,url!
f mm Iht Inf.."try. al<' " m4' b. ,b..llhrw nn:> fon,.. lire 0 ..1, 10 b~ fo_nd
b"ricd m WOdI rn"81f1 not )" 1 ru og..iu d .., IIn.U
Not ~11 the varied (but srill not n ried enough) forms that have come
to be called · publ;c art" deserve rhe name. I wouldde6ne public HI;U
accessible wo ri< of any kind 1h.:.1cares about. ch~l1eng.,., inn .h-a, and
consults ttK: audience for or with " 'hom it is m:a<le, rnpecting eommunil}
~nd environment. The orh.,.,. ' Iuff is sti ll privale an, no matt .,.,. how big or
expo sed Or imrusive or hyped il may be. In order to ro n 01,11where ,,'r
slOnd at the momenl , I"'e made a neeessaril)" ,enu li,·., 1;51 of Ihr existing
genres of · oullookin,- art abou, place. These n e nOl illlended as Irozcn
categories, and manr obviousl y o,'.,.,.lap:
1. Wo.ks prepared for cOll\"enlioouJ indoor exhibition (inslall.alions.,
phoc"l;raphs, eorw:q>tual <In, 1nd pro;t<:1propos.ds) ,h.:.t refer 10 local
eommunil ;"~, histo!)·, Or en, ironmenu l issues. Examples an: Deborah
Bright and Nancr Gonchar's ChiragQStorieJ, Newton and Helen
Mar er Harrison's proposc<l Boulder Creek Proiect, and Richard
M;srach's 8r~f"o 10: TIN Bombing of thC' Amfflc«n \t'r' l.
2. Tr.ad ilional outdoor public an (nol ~plunk an, · which h.as simply been
enlarged and dropped on the site) that d ra...-s attention 10 Ihc specific
characleris,ics or fUlXtinns of Ihe places where it interve ncs, either in
prlodiCiab le locatio ns su,..h u parks, bank I'laz.o.>, museum gardens, and
college campus." ($uch as Andre'" Leice. ltr's mininl; memor ial in
Frostburg, Mary land; Athena Tach.:.'s M emory P..th in Sau.sota,
'"
Florid./.; ~nd 8~rbmJo Revelle's Prop/c's Hutor)' of Color.do, in
lh::n"er), or in unex!X'r1W ~tld sometimes inaccessible locations, " " h
U streets, store windows. ~ cabin in the wooJs, a 1aundrom~t, 1 goli
course, ~n office, 1 supernurkct. a craler in th" desert. ~ resident ill
neighborhood (such ;lS Cha rl"" Simonds', imaginary landscapes md
ci.-iliu Uons for "Lint" People" .md Oa,-id l·b mmOlllis HOMw of lIN
F itf Ul' in Charlesroe. South Carol ina). This group WO\Ild also include
innon ti,'c ~nd officially funded public an and m"morials with social
~gend~s ~nd 10( ~1 rcfer...nCI'$, such ~s Ml ya Lin's Vietnam Veterans
Memorial and Barb1 r~ Kruger's Litd eTok~'o mural at the Museum of
Contemparary Art. Los Angd"" .
J. Silt-specific outdoor anworlu. ohm eolls bo..ati"" or ccllccnve.
Ihal significandy involve Ihe oonunun'ty in execudon. backgrou nd
infornution, or ongoing fUr1CIion. Eumpleol a..e o(fici~ n~· condoned
graffiti w~lI s; Joc l Sisson's Gr...:n CIJ.r,r pTfJjret in M i nl)c~poli ,; Olivia
... Gudc ~nd Jon Pounds', PI/11m"" Projeeu in Chicago; the Bord er Art
\'(lorkshop in San Di.-go ~nd TijU.;ln.t; Dr. C turles Smith 's Afrin n
Ameria.n Heriuge MUSonlm in Auron, Illinois; and ..·or ks by nuny
prcgressive muulists.
~. Permanent indoor publi,; insulbt ions, often "'i th SOme function in
reg.rd 10the commllnit)"s hiStory, such as P05t office murals across
the enuntr y and Houston Conwill, Estella Con..·iIl :\I:ijozo, and In
.seph Dc Pace's The Rh:CTS ~I the Schomburg Ccn tU for Research in
Blxk Cullu.., in New Yor k Gty. l1t.is gr<M.lp also includes hisrcry
sp«ific communi~' proj«ls thai focus on ongoing educational pro
eesses. such as the Chinatown HiSIOt)· Projert in New York Ci~· and
the Lowell, M.lSsachusctts. natio nal industri.l park.
s. P~rformances or rilU~1s outside of resdiric nal ~rt spa.ce. that call attcn
lion 10 pb ces ~nd their hiStories and problems, or to a l.uger commu
nit}'01 idcntil)' ~nd cx~nce. Like SIren J>OSICTS, Stencik. or st iekCTS,
'"
<00 0 ' ''& ~'O.... b "'" • • , _ . H ' ...~ . ...... <;O"'D.'
Ihe$<:' ....orks often fUllction.lS ~"'akc-up ~rt,' a c.:ltal ~·St l<.> oollc<,:ti, 'c
aet;on. Examples ~re Su"a"n" l.acv's Three We"ks in ,l/a)' in Lo. An
geles, and G uillermo GOmer.-Pena and Coco Fusco's TIJ I! YearofII],·
While Be.rr:lt se"eral sites in the Unit..d States and Europe_
6. Art Ihat funCl>ons for- enrironmenul a,,'arenos, imprO'·=>tnl. or
rccr..mation by lrand orming WUldands, focusing on nalUu.! history.
opc ruinj; utilitarian sites, m~king p~rks. and cleaning up pollunon. An
eumple is A I~n Sunfis!'s Time L.m dlc.rpc of NF'" York CII)'.
7. Direct, didactic polilicalan thn co mments publicly on 1<K~1 or n~
tional issues. np«i>.Ily in Ihe form Qf sil;n.&ge on tnnspon~Iion, in
parks, on huildings.or by dloC rINd, which marks sires, ",·tnt.<,and
M~nh~tt;ln. D~" id A'Ollos, Louis Hock. and Eliu hcth Sisco'. San
Diego bus project, ~nd Hs chivi Edgar Heap of Bird, 's Host projects
at multiple ,i tcs.
8_ Portable public-access ..dio, tel"'-ision. or prillt media. such .lS audio
and "idcorapcs. postcuds, comics. guides. manuals. artiSts' book.. andpo5lers. Essm ples are Carole Con de and KHI B",·eridge·s book andposter work ,,'ith Canadian unions aed I)~pcr ligl.'1' public-access
television. demonstr~tion art such ss Ihc AIDSquilt. and the Spec/ad e
of Tramform.rrion in Washingu," , D.C.
9. Actio", and chain acrlon, lhat tr:t"eI, P'Crme~le ..-bole IOWns, or app"ar
all O\"rTthe country simulla.l'lroWly to highlight or link current issues.
Examples H e John Fekner's slencils in rhe Bronx, NC"" York; the
Shadow Project, a narioewidc commemoration of Hiroshima Day:
and LeeN~di ng 's highway ideograms."
For decades no..' a few mists h~"e ventured out into the public
rontnt and made interactive, participatory, cffecti,·e, and .ffC'C1.i' ·e an
relating 10 places and tbe people in lhem. Since the lat" fifties lhere have
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bun alt empts b~' ani SiS utili:!:ing form, m.:nm..u, ~nicip<llion, COnlt<XI,
and ca mrnl (t<.g., Happt< nings by Allan Kaprow, C lat<s O ldenburg, and
Carole t< Schneeman) 10 escape fro m galler ies and museums . In th e sixties
the gerund (Ihe gramma tical fo rm of proce"j overc ame ",ulpIUTe, ",hi ,'h
othr.....ri se muu a ns and mobiliz.ing. Since around 1%6 there Ius been a
body of work Ihat q uestio ns all o f Ihe structures by which an exist! in th e
,...orid-i.lK- mod emis, myths, Ihe commod ily st:nus, efJeason Ihe «'01
og~'. male and ,,",,:li te do minance, tlK- prn;ious objece, the spccu liu o o r
uppcr- c!u s audience, and the cultu ral co nfinement o f anis15 tlK-mseh·cs.
Parallel ing the development of a socially aware experimenul an
s;nc(' the sixties, a fragile movement for cult ural democracy hal recognir.ed
an as useful. though no r neccssarily u tilitarian. Th an ks in p:U! to the
women 's an mO"emem, which silKe rhe u ri)' seventies hll emphasized
sociJ l struCtures .... f(>[m.al innon tio n (morc"";:'omen nuke and ...·rite abou t
J>MIidp:no ry public an du n men). -e lu"e~n a brwdening of Ihe n0-
tio n of public an into a nunuring as -ell as nllcrta ining, plcasure -gi" ing,
or crit ical enterprise.
By rh... late eight ies, rath...r surprisingl)'. this impt'IUS was rclati, eIyan,epled intu the mai" str eam, thuugh its amcccdcms are n"'er aekllo,,· I
edged . But tbere is, in fact. lin le full)' realized ·oe"· geMe public an " OUI
there yel. Th~ rclatioo~hip, bet ween ani, t and co mmun it)" ha"e usually
bern scri.aJ1~· monog.r.mou$. Th e anisl {"'ho m:l.}' li"e in situ (lr n",y have
parachuted in) goes on 10 $(Imething else. and the community is (liren
iru ufficic,mly in" (lI"ed to co ntinue (IT U I..nd thr pr(lj« 1o n its (I""n. Too
m:l.ny :mistS ....ho had h(lped t(l help change the ...·(lrld throu gh making
issue-<lriente<;! an for larger aud iences in m(lre accessib le place. h:l.'·e be.
com.. disillul i(ln..d with the acc()mp~n>' i ng bureaucr acy. ~ Public Jrt sucks"
i_< the o pinio n (If onc much. resp..cted and luog·commilled public arlin.
Ano ther tells me sbe is fioishcd with public an after "" orki ng for years o n
a p ro}ect that Wll full>' o kaYed and funded um il an officiall,' concocted. . .glitch appe-ue'lf and wiped il off tbe sc,,"n. IdealiRic an istSall o'er Ihis
countf) ' are being " rung up "",ith ud upe. nunyn 10 the tM.>pdul cause of
a truly public. imcrae,i"e, ~nicip:l.tof)·, and pr<lgl"cssi,'c an . Th e m(l"t'Y
and rnCT tbat shou ld ~ going imo thO' mUlual:l.nd collective educat ion
(If ar tist, and bureauer:l.ts anJ audiences iso'l evailable.
Of th.. peoplc I'v .. wrillco ahou t since 1981 in my colu mns on art,
po lilics, and community," most are still 00 tr:u::k. ColI:l.boratiUII and orga
ni7.:l.l ional support seem 10 sustain o urr..;)ch ..ncrgies, whil.. "success" and
the al1l1lCtion o f connnlio nal venues tend to wukcn gra.ss-roots io,'o"'c
mrnl. ("\-en ;\S lhey offer high..r profile opportl,lllilin to ...·ork in public. .'...
fca' highl~' visible progtCS5ive min s h.•xe b<'= able 10 get Ih<'ir messages
across to tru ly law. thou gb not neces...rily b road, aud iences h)' expand iog
their media :>a: CS$.
T he art " 'o rld's no ,-clty upress tr ain. which oflen rewards the
, ul'erficiaHy ~""", - aod ignores those who arc in for the 101\1\ haul (uole, s
their prod ucts are uleable), i. parrially respo nsible for the attrit ion amo ng
public anists. as is Ihe poli lical and «ooo mic d ill1:l.le. E,·.... a, it fails to
reach iu goals. bo"·("\·cr. hil-and· run (o r hug.and · sidllHJff) an o ffcn
u m-alizing glimpses of ne...· entrances l(1r:an into ("\ erp u r life.
Moderoisl an is al "'a~'s moving figun li,'c!y into "ne...~ terrain.
rearing -new w parameters, de mand ing -nca' - parad igms. It remai"s 10 h.
seen ....hether ,he "new" g.,nre public an wit h which th is book is COn·
cemcd cao transcend the boundaries (and the eo mm..rcial demand for
no n ·h y) that shelter or impri soo even that an which mO,",S OUI into the
world. Altho ugh I\ ·c usd the word II much as aoyo ne. I'n co me to
undersund tlul a tru ll' publie an "ccd fJOI be · n",, " to besignificant.
"nc.. the socia.! eon lexts and aud iences so crucial to its formation an- #f
<:4y' changing. As I go over IlK- « ologica.l:an thai h.u been made in the
last ""'enty ~'c:\rs (cspcciall~' the ephemerallandscape an of Ihe lare sixties
and u rly s,,·ent ies. and the spiritually orien.cd feminisl an o f Ihe SC" cn
ties). I am sim ultaneously heaneeed b~ its variety aod di_,,"-ppointed by i"
co mmun;cati"e [imitations. H elen Mayer Har ri ~o t\ s~ ys, · We haveo't
~pokeo the voice of the ri"cr; cultivate hum ility.»'· T he int eractive aspects
of IlK- ouuuching ~n·about- pbce Ihat has been dC\eloped du ring tlK- last
f....· rears may be fragile and tentati,·e. but they are budding. eom po:stcd in
a renewed S<'1Ue o f mcmory. rndy 10 blosso m if "",e c-an ernIe a ...·ek oming
O<II ·(lf· art co ntext for t lK-m 10 vrnlurc into.
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W H £ U WE C OUlD U
T here is no reason to cur the l in th ~t bind such art to its home in the corn
mu nity. ...·hich ~t ....orst co nstrictSand regul~les it and ~t o..st shares its
co ncer ru.. o ffering rrspo"sc- ible crit idsm and suppon . Inn u d. the task is
to u t:lblish .ln additional sn o f bo nds ndiating oul to pan icipant commu
nities., .ludielKd . and orber - marginaliud " anists, so that the an ide"
DttOmes. finall~" p"n of rbe cenrer-c-eoe "n elite "elller sheltered and hid
de n from p ublie ,·ie.... bUI an accessible eemer to ....hich panieipants Me
anracted from .ll1 sides of ~n and lift.To affcct percept ion its-elf, ...·e nttd 10 .lpply ide... as .....d1 ... fOnDS
to (he ....,.ls people see and x t ....ithin melOn thei r su rrou nd ingr-in muse
ums., parlrs,.lnd educ u ion .l1 inst itu tion s.. Ide... catch lire in di .l1ogue.....hen
one penon's e~'cs light up as a......lfter con jures iltUgrs..An ilsdf, .lS a ",nu·
Irri,,!ized sp.ark, an X I of recognition. ean b.. .. U t.l1p l in ..II..<us of lif,. -once It breW .l.....ly from the rultural con finement of the m.lrkn rc.l1m.
Redefinit ion of an ..ndart isl can help he..l .. ..",-in,· m...t is .llicn.tred from
its life Iorees. As Lr on SO...-der hu pid, "We muSI shift ou r Ih inking a,...ay
from bringing gn'at an 10 Ihe peo ple 10 ...·or:king ....itb people10 ernIe =h · . f l·"F . . - ~t "t ,s me..nmg u . emlnlSm I...., :acli.';sm hl"e created models, but
,,-e've bard }' lou ched rhe dcp'lh of rompluily " ; Ih ....hich an could inter
.lei ....ilh soc itl},.
To eh ange the power reUlions ;nhn,nt in ,he ""'y In i. 00'" nw:Ie
and dislributed. " ', need to eontinue ro seek OUI ......· fonns bll,uJin rocWl
cn"8~s not )~r rrrogn,u J 'If . n. SOme of Ihe most inttr... ting ..nemptS are
, hott that refrarne not-n«es$.lril} -I n pract ices o r piKes br S<"cing rhem
th rou gh Ihe ern of art . Th is, too. is an idea thaI origin.:ued in thc mid
sixties . At lhu lime such "looking around" "..a. the prod uct o f a rejection
of .ut :lS "precio usobjects,- as more ffllff fi lling up the ,,·o rld. The id ea "..a.
10look at what was alre.ldr in rbc world and tn nsfonn it into art hv the
process of seeing-e-n..ming and pointing oUl-nlh... tha n producing.
If the ral's nrst o f problems Ihat ateo mpan ies anv fora... out of the
. Iudio has de tlc<:ted man)' anists fro m new Or old genr~ p ublic an . no
an ist who hu ventured out returns without being change d, and thn ged .
H ow can we build these changes inlO art ed ue..tion , into the e"rerr
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m<:<.:hlnism. , into th e poss ibilities that a life of an making holds lor thos e
tempted b)' suth ri~ks ? With few except ;ons., the art schoo ls and dep art
mentSin thi. country still t....ch a einerecnth-cemury norion o f the runt
tion (or func tionlessn....) of art . There .lIe a few - ~n in a social co ntext"
co urses sp rinkJeJ " rou nd the ....o rld. " b ut (he r renuin o-erwhclmed by
eon"enlion al view •. Most an students. e\'Cn sophisticated o nes. know linle
or nOlhing about she historv of atte mpts 10 bre.lk do wn the " 'Ills. The
fact is, " " need '0 elu.nge the sr .tem und er ,,-hieh ""c live and make VI.lli
citize ns ..nd ilS = ,,·orke-rs. We Me b ring out I},., ingredienu bUI Still
looking for the recipe . Once th, re Me more coo ks, " 'erybod y will use ehe
ingrcdiom d iff...end ~'_ We cou ld be "Ie.Khing- fUIUr' ~n-nol ...h.lt's
already been m:ode, and nol n«CSS<1ri1r in inst itulions. 'IX'e could be propa
g;>-ting Ihe sou recs and eontextSo f lhe art W I hun'l been made yet. Th~ is
",hm: the absolulely cruci.oI mollimltunl aod intu d isciplinary co mpo
nen lSof art aboul plxe eo~ in.Cultur, is " .hal defines pl.lCt .lI1d iu meaning 10 poop l, . The apol.ili
ul.lnd "ccleureless" ......ltu r' in which most of us liv, in the Unired StatC$
il1C\·iuhl}· ln .·cs US pl:acekss_To<!.lr . in the nineti es... some art islS have
..,nlured 1(> make knoWIl.l broader sense of eultu rc.u a pan of our li, 'cs
that's not hirrarcilal but tempon.!. ongoing. Some an haSbecome a (:lui rsl
or "ehid e fo r ~1Ll1 exchan ge among cu llu res. helping as find our multiple
seh ·n .lli opposed 10o nc-d imr n. io n;aj slc-rrolrJ>O. Regard less of class
and opportunity, ,,-e ~II h..rbor several id"nt itics-religioos and po litinl
Mfiliuions o r Ixk thereof eu lttlnl aod grographinl backg rccods, nurilal
o r parmul $latuS, occup.llion. and so on. To lam 10 use thesemtlh iple
identi lies. not ju ~t lO kno'" ourselves bu t 10 empathize and work ,,·ith
others, is one of ihe lesson. ~n imeraeti,,, an a n o ffer. O ne of the work
gro ups at the ~Mapping the Terr ain - con ference su mmarized, • AesthelietO
shapes relat ionships het"·,,en people. Constant negotiation s of life are
rt('nacted and released in an . Yo u t an' ! do rommu nit)' ...·ork unless ~'ou
lisrco. use imuilion.·Community dOt."S n'l me"n understanding eve ry lh; n~ about e"cry
hndy and resolving all the diffcrenccs; it me"n s knowing ho'" to work
within difference. J.S they cha nge anJ ",\·....Ive. C rit ical consciousness is a
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procas of r<:cognizing bOlh limirat ions and pcssibilines. We need 10 001
laborale ....itb small and large soeia l. poI ilieal, epecialieed groups of people
alread y infonned on and immened in Ihe U:sues . And ....e need to leach
them 10 ..·deome Htisu. 10 undenland ho.... M1 can concret ize and en,i
sion lheir goaJs;. AI the >.=Ie I;me ....e need 10 roll abonle ",ith Ihos<, ....~
backgro unds and maybe fonyound s Me unb miliar 10 us. rqc:eting lhe
insid ious no lions of -di ,-enily · tim simply ~lral i7.r difference. Empath y
and exchange ar e ke}' ...onl.s.. E,-en for imeracrive ut ",·orken ..-be> Ila,·e
all ihe nghl ide-as. elit ism is a hard habil lo kick. Nothing th:1.I excludes the
places of people of col o r, women. lesbia ns. gays. or ....orking prople can be
called inclusive, universa l, or healing. To find the ....hole we mUSI kno ....
and respect aU the parts.
So we need to weave a relat io nship and r~iprocallhoory o f multi
plicilYaboul who wc are, what is our place. and ho w o ur cultu rc affcets
o ur cnvironment . Wc n~ to kno w a lot mO<". aoo ut ho w our work affcelS
and d isaffects Ihc pcople cxposed to ;1. whcther and how il dot. and docs
nor com mu nicalc. This 100 Can he: bu ilt into exper imcnta l ed ucation in
both an hiOlo ry and studio courses [the tWOremain absu rdly separated at
most schools).
To retu rn to the notion o f place, an Ca nnOt be a cemering (ground
ing) devic.. u nless Ihe arrisl hersel f is centered and grounded. This ;s not to
sa)" that the ahenared. the diso rient ed. the deracinaled. the no madic (i.e _.
mon of us) can not makc an. But wme po rtable place must rest in our
JOUls. Pem aps "'-e are lucky enough to have some SUSlaining chunk of
- nalu re- to nourish us. Per haps thc city is jusl as sawfy;n g. Perhaps Ihc
SIU<1.0 is lhe dcn ..M re "'·Cli..k our ...ounds. d ream up images. plan """
strategies, gath" r thc nrcngth to go out again. I'erlups lhe limiulions of
lhe i,·ory galln)· and t .... p<tgrs 0{ an magnines u"stuming the groWlh of
an an thai dreams o f Slnding fC1t' lcssly into the S1~ts. inlO th.. u nkno",·...
10 meee and mingle: "ilh uthers ' lives.As "en,i.ionancs, · an istS should be able 10 pro,·idc a ,,·a~· to
wo rk againslthe dominanl cu ltu re's rapa cious vie",- of nalu re (· Manifest
Destin y" ). to reinstate the mythical and eUllUral dimensio ns to " pub lic·
expcr ience and arrhe Same l ime to become conscious of rhe id w logiul
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, O O" N ~ "O~ N O "'"t.. w i ... . "' . ' " w , <o~'o "'
relalio nshi ps and histoneal consr rucrioes o f place. \l'e need artis ts to guide
us Ihroogh the S<'I\SUOU'" kineslhclic respo nses 10 topogr.lph~.. 10 lcad uS
into rhe a rchuo~·:ond rcsurr«t:;o n of bnd-b.asrd soci al hi' lo"'-, 10 bnng
001 mult iple readings of pl :KeSlhar mean diffCR'J\It h.ing:s to diffcrnll poople
and at diHaent limes. And rbcre is muc h ..-c can learn fro m Ihc ironicJ.Il ~·
labeled · pn m't i,·c· cultures aboul undcrs u.ooing oursd..cs as pM1 of
nJ.lure. interd cpcnd"nt ...ilh C'·CT)'"Ihing in ;t--bc:causc nalUrc ind odes
evel"}'thi ng. C'cn recheologv, cru led by humans. ...ho M C pan: o f naror".
Wh,u would it be likc. an M1 produced b~· lhe imagination and
responses of ilS ,-i<:",-en or u ...n? How can an ael i.....tc local acriviries llId
Io<;al ' alues? With .>dequatc fu rniing reso urc es. p oblic an islS might set up
so<:iJ.I and po lllicalspaccs in which cncll;ia could come together, d iJ.logue
and altern ath·a o r opposition could be co ncrclized . These mighl be secn
in rclation to the familiar -framing" nnlcgy. in wh ich what is alreadJ
there is pu t in shorp relief by the additi on of an an of call ing altemion .
"Parasitie " art for ms, like corrcelcd billboards. can r ide thc dominant
cultu re ph rs ically while challenging it pOlit ically. cruting opcnly coo
rened t,'ru;ns thar cxpos c thc lruc ideruhics of exist ing places and SpJ." "
and the ir function in sociJ.l con trol. Another set of p<)ssibililies is arl that
aClin tc$ the conscio usness of I. place by sub tle mar kings witho ut d istu rb
ing: ii-a booklel gu ide.....alking tours.,o r d irect io nal signs captioning Ihe
hislorr of a house or a family. suggesr;ng the deplhs of a b ndsupc, Ihc
cluncleror a com mun ity.
An iso r should be grnnous. But utiSlScan onl~' give",-hal they
receive from thcir sourcr5. BelicYing as I do Ihat conneclion to pIa<:" is a
necessary· co mponcnl of feeling dose to people. to tM ean h, I ",·onder ....hal
... ill make il possibl" for an ists to • gin· places back to pooplc "'·00 can r>o
longer see t""m. Breause land plus prople-thcir presencc and absence--- is
..·hal maka plac c resonate. Alternali,·es "''ill have toe""'Tgc org m ical1r
fro m the M1isu' Ii,·es and expencncl."S. And Ihey ....on't unless a broader set
of oplions is b id Out by !hose ...ho are esplo rieg thest - ncw · ter ritories.
Tne an ist has to be a pan icipanl in process as ....cll as iudirecror, has10 ~li ,·e
there" in some way-phys icallr. symbol k allr . o r cmp~lh"tic.alt y.
l L n.. ,,.lt__. -...-.... ..~lllll .. u..""-L lr 'JO,, ""'.. ,. ~..,..d<I.--..bot ..;""lo .-- """- ""'-<I C""" ).I U .....".I:,.,-.""r...101..........."" A,. u4 .. C<IoI c.a. d Mo (".. .fi t. o.kl _ """"-
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W HOU MO N UMlN T WHf U ! )'U'~IC ...~T I N '" I'1"'N 1' . CU l TU~fD SOC IU1' f" d" b F. IJ. U
Using Ih~ I~rm ·public art " in an J.ud i~nc.. of man)' eulrc res bring~ d iffef"
~n l inugn 10 mind in ~J.cb of us. P....hJ.J!S SOI1l<' of us envisiUT> I h~ frnc:Of1
see the murels o f Los T.-..s G~ or t~ ri"1.11SUKI pJ.inlinp and 1001'ms
o fNui,'~ peoples. Sc mec ee SJ.id IhJ. l lhe purpose of a monurmm is 10
bring rhe pul imc 'ht present 10 il1$pi~ lh, fuw~. Monum~nts ma,' be
Iih In..~ fonn«! from dw mud of a p1J.c.. into tn.. bu ildin, blocks of
a ~in)'; Ihnr putpOSt' nur be to in>·C'StigJ.l~ and reveal rhe 1IH1l'I(>t'} ron
reined in I"" ground bencuh a "pcblic site, ~ marking o ur puugn as:a
PNPI~ and r....,·ifloning of6ciJ.1hislory, As anim e~:ali n5 In.. mon urmrou
of tftc nmnil's. the ullinuu: question for u. 10 consider is. 'l\TJu.1s!W1"...
ehoou 10~a1i1~ in ou r lim~ ?
0...... t~ p,m I"'~my ~-~J.n as:a public :anis!. 1hJ.~ been strvck b~'
how our com mon Iq;x y in pub lic an i. dtri"ed from tht ·can nOft ·in·tht·
puk ~ impulse, ""hieh .::auSC$ us to dras oullh~ rusty n nnon. from~I
...·an. po lish lh~m up, and pl~e them in t"" puk for children .0 era,,·1over
II Sund:ay picnics. The pul'J'OS' ...·as 10 evoke a rime pas' in ...hich Iht
~.pl~ndid triumphs- and ~!>(ruggln of ou r fo,~f:alhtrs~ sh ifted tbe tour$('
of hisl0t')'. These Oipos itions ...·ero:meant . 0 inspire an awe ofour , reat
nation's po ....er 10 essen its miliary ill and prC" ail ove- eeemies, Running
ou' handsover ih",poli. hrd bronze, e slu, ed in , he5(: viceceies aod became
eelisred in . h..se (':a uSC$. N ever mind if for us as peopleof colo r Ih~y were
nOI o ur forefalhe rs.or even if rhc triumphs "'I'r~ ofl..n o'·cr ou ro...n propl~.
!to more conremporarj-exampl.. of displar ing (J,nllOns in tho: puk
occu rred during rhe promenade o f mililary' weapons on Ihe Mall in ~'uh
ingron. D.C., immrdiatdr afl~r Armrin d ..darrd victory in rhe Gulf
War. In an el<hibi' io n prcp:arcdfor American families in Ihe adjoinin g
Smilhsonian lnstiw tion Hall of Scien", a gnndfalhcrlr "oi('~ (sound ing
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remn kably like Ronald Reagan) ,oothed uS into belin ·jng the war was a
bloodless. computc rized science demonstration of gigant ic proport ions.
Young American men with adro it reflexes Irained by a "ideo- game cultu re
demonstra ted our ,uperiority as a nat ion over Saddam Hu ssein thro ugh
video-screen strategic air ,tr ikes.
From the triumphant bronze general on horseback- the public',
view of which is the und erside of galloping hoo" es--to its more contem
porary corporate versions, we find eumples of pub lic art in the ",""icc of
dominance. By their daily presence in our Ii,-c<, thesc artl'rorh intend to
persuad... us of the justice of the acts they represent_The power of the
corpo rale sponsor is embodi,x1 in the sculpture stanJing in from of the
towering office building. Th"sc grand work" like their military predeces
sors i" the parks, inspire a SCnSe of awe by their scale and th" import ance
of the artist. H ere, pub lic art is unashamed in its intention to mediate
between the public anJ th" developer. In a ~ th in gs.go down better with
public art' mentality, the bitter pills of development arc deli"ered to the
public . whilepercent -for-art bills have heralded developers' cr..-ation of
amenable public places as a po,itive side effect of ~ g rowth: every inch of
urban . pace is swallowed by skyscrapers anJ priv..tizeJ into the so-nlled
public space of shopping mall. and corporate plazas_Thes e d",-dopments
predetermine the public, ' elffting out the homeless, "e "dors, adolescents.
ur ban poo r, and peopl e of colo r. Planters, benches, and o ther "pu blic
amenilie, ' arc suspect as potential hazard, or public loitering place, . Re
cent attempts in Los Angeles to pass law, to SlOp or scyerely restrict push
cart v endcdorcs from selling clore" !",ra,, palcras. and raspado, mad...
aeti,-ists of nonaggressive merchants who had silently appropriatM public
space' in largely b tino sections of our city. Vend"dnrc" 10' ed hy the
people for offering nOt only popular produ cts but familiar reminders of
their homeland. , provide a Latino presence in public spaces. Any loss of
botAnica" mn-cadM. vendedoTts, and things lamiliar reinforces segrega
tion, as ethnic people disappear io .. nother corner of the city.
Los Angeles prn,-ides clear and abundant example5of d"'clopment
as a tool to colonize and displace ethnic eommunitic"S. [nfamou, develop
mentS abound in public record, if not consciousocss--Dodger Stadium,
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which disp laced a historic Mexican com munity ; Bunker H ill, now home
to a premier ..rts ceru er, which d ispl..ced ..nother: and rhc less w!'lldocu
mented histo ry of how lour major frreways intersected in th,-middle of
Easl Los Angelcs", Ch icano communities. O ne of thc most catastrophic
consequent es of ..n endless real estate boo m was the concreting of the
entire Los Angel..., Ri"er, on which the cit )" w~s founded . The river, as the
earrh's an ctics-thus ..tro phied and hardcncd-c-created .. gi..nt sur across
the land which serve<.! to further divide an alrcady divided city. It is thi,
mctap hor that inspircd m)" own half-mile-long mural on the histo r), of
ethnic p...oplcs painted in the Los Angel..., riv...r conduit. Just as young
C hicanos tatt oo hall ie scars on their bodies. the G.....M Wall o! Los Angel" ,
is a tanoo on .. snr where the river once ran.' In it reappear the disap-
pc..rcxl stories of ethnic populations that m..ke up the l..bor force whiclt
built Our city, state, ..nd n..tion.
Public ..rt oft...n plays a supp orti "" role in deve!o!",rs' ..gend..s. In
ma"y inst..nces, ..n uses be..uty as a Ialsc promi se of indusion. Be::\llly
ameliorates the erasur... of ... thnic presence, scn-ing the transformation into
a homugcniz"d ,·isual ,·ultu re: give theon some thing be..utiful to stand in
for the los, 01thcir right to .. public presence. Two New ¥ork-b..sed
art ists were selected to dttor..te the lobby of the new skyscrapu of First
Interstate Bank in downto wn Los Angeles. To represent multicultur..lism
in Los Angeles, they chose ..ngels from the Basilica of Santa M..ri.. degli
Angeli ne..r Assisi, Ita ly. They then tacked ethnic emblem, onro the
European ..ngels, "borrowing~ the pre-Columbian Iearhcrcd serpent
Q uetzalcoatl from the An ees, the erowneJ mahogan y headpie<:c from
Nigerian masks, and the eagle's wings from our Native peoples as "em
blems of a '-ariety of cultures." These symbob replaced the real voices of
people of colo r in a city torn by the greatest civil diso rder in th... United
States in decade, . At the dedication, which took place .honly afu r the
rebellion (the Los Angeles riots of 1992), black and Latino children un
"eiled the angels in an elaborate ribbon-cutting cercmony_Hailed by the
d"'"c!oper' as a great symbol of "unity," these anifecrs stood in for the
real peop le in a city terrified of tbe majority of its cirizens. Tragically, th e
$500,000 spent on this single work was more than the whole city budg et
,
10 fund publ;" mu r.als by ~Ihnic aniSls who ""ork within Los Angelcs's
diverse Ch in~. African Amerinn. Kcre..n. T1u.i. C hiano, and Ccmral
Anwncm neighborhoods.
No single ,y., of public~e ,,00 the an du ! ocrup;cs it will " 'or k
in a metropolis of multipk p"np<"'ti , -C'S. While compt"tirion for public
spsce boro....s d~r. cuilunl communi tif:S <:211 for ; 1 10 be usa! in dnmui
nil) differenl ....ays. Wlu l comes ;nlO qU<:$lion is the '-cry differ""15n1S;
bililics o f order and beauty W I opcr..re in d iffmml cul tures. When
Chriseo, forenmpk, look~ fo r the firsl (i~ at El Tqon Pass. he $;I""
poteeti..!. H e sa...· the polcnti.lJ10 create beau ty with .l pcrsoO<lI ,-i5ion
imposed on thO' WulK~a bcau~' (lui 61his ind ividu al cision of yellow
u mb rellas IIutt eri ng in the wind , marc hing up ,h..sides of rolli ng hills.
The b od became his n on . , a Inckdrop for his ~rsoruJ ..es,het ic.
Native peuple might took .lI the same bndsc~~ ...ilh ~ v~ry diff~r_
er n idea o f beauty, a be ~Ufr without impo sition. 'J:h"y ';'ight.tt a p"'rf~et
order cKe mplill ed in nature itself. imcg",1 to a spiritual lif,' grou nd (x! in
pl~c.. N atu re is notro be lam pered with; hence, a pbm take n r('quires ~n
o ffering in return, Riehled Ray W hilman, a Yaqui artist, said . ~Scienti fi ·
call)' eoh"si"~1 am the atom s, molecules, blood, and d usr o f my ances
tc rs-c-noe as hismry, but as a co ntinuing pocop le, \X'e d~scribe our culture
as I circle,by ....hich "'~ m..an dUI it is an im"K"at~ whol.,.-, \1ainu ining
a relations hip " 'it h t"" dus t of 0"'''' s ecesrors rcqu ircs a g~ncr.ationa l
relationship ""ith tJ1., land and. a respectful treatment of O1h"r lif.. fou nd
on the land.
Or perhaps N an ,'e peoples cou ld nee think of this area witho ut
«'Calling Fort Tejon, one of the fin t CaJifomiaInd ian r~rnrioll'< aub
lished ~r this site in the, Tduchapi Mou nu .ins. pbc~ thn-e 10 ~ prot.....t ~
Ind ians rounded up fro m various neighboring areas, most o f "'hOR col
lura have been entirely datro~·cd . In C hristo's and the N~l i\'e ,isions " 'e
Iu "e [wo diff.".~nt aenheric sensibilities, as d i,·crtcnt as the ninereene h
cent ury English nunicurM gard en is from the rugged natu",1 N c.... Mcxi
can landscape of thc s"ngre de CriSlo Mo umains.
Perhaps a I",s benign implicatio n of C hrism's id~a is th~1 bndsc apoc
un tou ched by man is ~undevelopcJ land .~ This is a co ntinuation of the
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, '
,1,1
co ncep t of - man m'er nature· on ",hich lhis co umev " 'as fo unded a heri·. .tage of thought tlut has b rought u. clear-cutti ng in firs t gro"'1:h forests and
concrete conduits th..u kill riv~ as an scceprab le method of flood control.
These ideas find their !Urnl..! in the !.atemodcrnin and postm odcmisl
cu lts of t"" exalted indi,-idu..J, in which personal ,·i.ion and origilUlit~· are
highly valued. As a soliW}' creator the ~niSl ..alues sel f-n:prcssion and
· ar tistic freedom" (or scpa"'tenas rather rhan conf'lC'C1M ncss ). H " is
thcrci'or\' rn ponsiblc only to himself ruher than 10 a shared vision. failing
10reconcile the individual to the ...hole,
When Ihe naWre of EITejo n Pass-a place kno"'n 10 locals for its
high ...i nd5-.lS""n~ its~lf d uring Chri'ilo 's pro;«t and up rooted an
umbrella plamM in th~ gro und, cau sing the t ragic death of a woman ....ho
had come to sec the ...·ork.. Christo said, - My pro;« t imiu ,es real life.• J
coul d n't help mus ing on ...·hat a differem projcet it wou ld ha"c been had
the be autiful yellow umbrellas marched lhrou gh Skid Row, where l os
Angeles's I ~ O,OOO ho meless lie in (he rain . An can nn lon ger b~ (ied 10 lhe
no nfun ctionaliSl state, relcgarcd by an "art ro r an's ukc~ tyranny. Wou ld
it nOI havc been more beautifu l ro shel ter pcopl ~ in need of shelter, a ges
ture and Slatement about our fai lure as a society 10 provide e"cn Ihe mon
basic need s to thc poor' ~'h}' is it not pos sible for public an to do more
than - imiut..- lif~ ? Public an could be insq>4r4bl~ fro m the dailv life of
Ihe people for wh ich it is created. Developed to live harmo niously in
public space, it could h~,-.. a function wilhin the co mmunity and ",'en
provide a \'~nue fo r their '·oices.
Per the Maican sensib ility, an imponant manifestation o f public
art is :o. ...-o rk br MexKan arrist Da"id Alfaro S'quci ros on l os Angeles'.
historic O lvera Strtt'1-. This 1933 mu n l, pa.intcd O\'cr for ncar l}' sin}' years
br city fathITs because o f its pomayal of rhe plight o f Mrnc.anos and.
Chic~ in Cali fornia, is cuTl'"ntly in ralO"'l ion. Siquei ros d"pieted as
the cent ral figure. a mn rizo shooting at the AmericUl "~gle and ~ cru cified
Chic~nolMe:<iC:lno. \\7},ile this mural is beco ming mM>ro- tied, with mil
lions of dollars providM by the Get t )' Found ation for its p lesctYatio n :o. oo
re-presentation to Ihe public, it i. important 10 recognize that Ute same
imag", wou ld mon likdy be ccn$<lrc<! if painted today on Los Angeles 's
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j udith F. 8 M"
st ree!>. T he <ubj".;! matter is as relevant now, SiKlY ye ars later, as il was
th en. Moralsdcp iClillg the domination of and rcsislanet' by Los Angeles's
Latinos or ot her pop ulations o f color provoke the same official resistance
as they did in 1':133. Desp ite these struggles, murals ha ve be cn l he on ly
inte rventio ns in pu blic spaces t h.at articulate the presence of ethnicity.
Architecture and city plannin g have done little to accom modate commun i
ties of color in our cit)'.
As co mpetition fo r pu blic ' pate has grown, pu blic art pol icies ha'-c
beco me calcified and increasingly burcaun ;lI ;c. Art that is sanctioned has
l05t the po litical bite of the sevent ies 1n"", I•. Nevertheless, a rich. legacy of
mur als has been produ ced since Ama ;u Tropic,'[ was painted on O lvera
Strc ~'1 b)' the maeStrO. Thousands of public mur als in places wher e people
li, '( and work ha"e become tangib le pu blic monuments to the shared
expe rience of commu nities o f color. Chicano mu rals ha"e pro ,·ided the
leadership and the fo rm for other com muni tjg to assen th eir presence and
anicu lue their issues. Tod ay, wor ks app car that speak of children cau ght
" in the em " fire of gang war fare in the barrios of Sylmar, the hidden prob -
lem of AIDS in the South-Central Afncan American co mmu nity, and the
struggles of immigration and assimilation in the Ko rean community. Thcs e
murals have becomc monu mcnts th at serve as a co mmunity 's memory.
The gene ... tio ns who grew up ill neighborhoo ds where the land
scape was dotted b y the mural mO'·ement ha,'e been influ enced by these
works. With few a,'enues open 10 traini llg and art produn;on, ethnic
teenagers ha,·e created the graffiti art thaI has beco me another method of
resisting priva ti 7.~x1 public space. As the first ,·isual an for m ent irely dc vel
oped by youth cul ture, it has become the focus of increasingly severe
reprisal, by authorit ies who spend filly-I";I;o million dolla" annuall y in the
County of Los Angeles 10 abate ",,·hal they refer 10 as the ·skin cance r of
soc iety.' (I is no accident that the proliferation o f graffiti is concurrent
with the reduction o f all youth re,rcat ion and artS pro grams in the scho ols.
Working with co mmu ni ties in producing public artworks has put
me into cont..ct ,,·ith many of these youths. O n o ne occasion, I was called
10 a local high school after havin g conv inced o ne of the you ng G rear Wall
prod uctio n team memb ers Ihat he should retUm to schoo!. T he urgent
".
message fro m the boy in the principal's offi ce said, " I need vou to come
here r ight ..war becau se I'm go ing to gCt th rown ou t of schoo l again."
My d eal with the bo r, formub led over a lo ng mcntorship, was that he
would not qu it school again withou t lalking to me first. I ar rived to lind
the principal !OWl-ring over the )'oung ,holo, who was holding his head in
a dcfiant manner I had seen o,·cr and o,·er in mr wo rk with the gangs.
This stance. reminiscenr of a w ..rr ior, called uncerem oniously ~holdi n g
your mug,· is abo ut main taining dignily in ad"erse circumst:lnC CS_The
principa l was complctelr frustrated.• You"·e wrinen on the schoo l's walls
and )' O ll simply do not have respect for olher pwple's prope rtr _Tell me,
would you do this in r ou r own house?" I co uldn't help bu t smile at h is
admonit ion, despite the seriousness o f the sitllat ion . Th is boy was an
important graffiti art ist in his commu nit),. I had visited his hous e and seen
the walls of his mom. where e '- cr~' irlCh was co\'e red with his int ricatc
wri t ings. Two different not ions o f beaUI) and ordcr werc operating , a.
" ·ell as a dispute abo ut o wnersh ip of the school. T he boy's opinion was
that he had aesthetically impro, ed the property, not destroy ed it.
Ar this l i", e the condi tions of ou r communities are wors e than those
that precipitated the civil rights act ivism of the sixtie' ;",d se'·cnties. Fifty
twOpercent o f all African American chi ldren and fon y- two percent of all
L.t ino child ren arc living in povertv. Dropout rat cS exceed high school
grad uat ion rates in these co mmunit ies. W hat. then, is the role of a socially
respo nsible p ub lic ..rtis t? A s the wealthy and poo e arc increasingly polar
i7-cd in our socicty, h ce-to-face urban confrontatio ns occu r, oflen with
catast roph ic consequences. C an pub lic art avo id co ming down on the side
of wealth and do minance in that confronta lion? H ow can we as anists
avoid becomi ng accom plices to colo nization? If we chose nm to loo k at
triumphs 0"'" nations and neighborhoods as victories and ..dvaneement' .
what monument s could we build? Ho w can we create a pu blic memorr
for .. manv-cullUnxi meiety? \Vhose stor y shall we tell?
Of grntest interest to me is the inven tion o f system s of "voice
giving" for those left without pu blic vcnues in which to speak. Socially
responsible artists from marg inalized com mun it ies hHe a pa n icular re
sponsibility to aniculatc the cond itio ns of Iheir people and to provide
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~~I~l rS LS fo r ~h~ngc, since perceptions of us ~s indi,-idu~ls are t ied 10 the
con ditions of ou r communities in ~ r~ci~lly unroph iSl i~ue<1 soc iety. We
canner e$COOp" that respo nsibility enn when we choose 10 lry: we are m~de
of the "blood and du st " of our anen ton in ~ comin uing hiSlory. Being a
c~lalySl for change will change us ~IS(>.
We an evaluate o urselves by the processes with which we choose
to tn.:Lke MI, nOI simply by the ul objects we ere-ne. Is Ihe artwork the
rnull of a pri"ate <let in a pu blic sp:ace? Focus ing on Ihe ob ject d~oid of
the creative pnxcss used 10 achieve i, hu bankrupted f u rocemrK mod·
eruisr and postmod ....niSl tr~d it ions. An p rOCC"scs"juSl ll an ob jects. nu)·
be euln..~l1y specific, and ..ith no single aesthftic. ~ diH'O'e socift~, ....ill
gencnte '-O'rJ' di ff....em forms o f public an,
'to' ho is tb.c public no '" that it has ~lunged color? H o..· do people of
.-ariow elhnic and class groups usc public spacc?~at idas do " 'e ....ant
10 pUce in public memor)'?W~ doc:s an btgin and end? Anisu I",xe the
un ique wil it)' to eranscend designaled sphcrcs of aeti,i~-. Wlw represen LS
something deeper andm~ hopefu l ~boutlhc fUlU",of our tthnicall}' .md
c1ass..cJivided e iees u e eolbbonlions th,lt move ....,11 ~-ond Ihe artist md
archi rect to tb.cm i$l and tb.c historian, scientist, en,-rronmenulin. or weial
service provid.".. Sueh colbbor~llolU arc mandated by tbe seriousness of
the tasks al h~nd. They bring a n nge of prople mID oon...en.nwm abo ut
!hcir ,-ision s for their neighborhoods o r IMi r m rion s.. Find ing ~ pl~u for
those ideas in monumenu thai are~onst rncled of the soil and spirit of the
people is the mon chal lenging task for pu blic m isls in rhis time.