ARED 3070: Exploring Artistic Strategies for Intervention
- Morgan Boswell
- Aug 13, 2019
- 3 min read
Art is increasingly breaking outside of its place in museums and galleries but it is also asking more of its viewers and I am proud for it.
Art has existed throughout humanity and has experienced many different purposes, media, and major movements. However I think art created now, in the twenty-first century, is asking more of its viewers than possibly ever before. It is asking the viewers to participate, question, and critically reflect on the world we are all a part of. This is done in several different categories of art which scholars have tried to categorize as participatory art, socially engaged art, interventionist art, and social-practice art among others(Helguera,2013). Ultimately, I think several key strategies can be taken from artworks in these categories to describe this how art is being used to ignite change in society.
First, the artwork exists in an environment which all or a majority of people can access. This is a major change from the art history canon in which owning and viewing art was a privilege reserved for the wealthy. This makes the art more accessible to those who cannot afford to visit a museum as well as those who would not take the time to visit a museum. Often art that serves as an intervention is public art. For example, Chalk by Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla features the installation of giant chalk sticks into a public area. Originally installed in Lima, Peru the chalk was used by citizens to respond to current political issues that they were facing.
Another aspect of this artwork that many others like it share, is giving the viewers the opportunity to participate. Through chalk, viewers became artists and were also given the opportunity to make their voices heard (or seen). Artist Doris Salcedo (2010) explains a goal of her artwork is finding an element that we all have in common, with this we can create works of art that are meaningful for large groups of people. Lounging on Red Couches by Julie Fiala and Claire Blunder Jones is another public artwork that is centered around public participation and discussion. In this particular artwork couches were installed in Hyde Park to ignite a conversation about safety in the park. The discussion and creation of community becomes the art in this project (Meban, 2009).
Julie Fiala and Claire Blunder Jones, Lounging on Red Couches: A public Dialogue on Safety in Hyde Park, 2005
A final characteristic I would like to highlight is art for intervention leaves the viewer or participant reflecting and questioning not only the artwork but often times societal issues.
The artworks often pose more questions than they answer which is genius. It not only keeps viewers thinking about the artwork but also ignites a desire for change. Barbara Kruger's artwork is a classic example of this as she makes the questions both bold and clear. In her Art21 video she explains the reason her art is so straightforward with the personal memento, "I remember going to galleries when I was young totally intimated, certain artworks have to be decoded. I think the availability of my work was important to me because I was that viewer that didn't understand" (Part of the Discourse, 2018). One of her more recent installations, Untitled (Skate) from 2017 features her signature font and poses questions for the viewers as they participate in their everyday activities.
Another example I saw recently that left me thinking and reflecting was an image of an artwork featured in Practices of Looking (2018) which featured an enlarged image of a child from Pakistan titled
#NotABugSplat. This piece left me speechless as I considered the inhumane aspects of drone warfare and civilian casualties.
Artworks surround us daily through our phones, but also through increasing public installations. These interventionist artworks differ in many ways but ultimately share several characteristics that help them to ignite ideas and offer new experiences to their viewers. Which spreads issues as well as shows the world that not all artists are not hulled up in stuffy studios creating art of the past, but instead that art gives voice to the issues we are facing and is fighting to spread and reach those who previously weren't given the opportunity to participate.
References
Helguera, P. (2013). Education for socially engaged art: A materials and techniques handbook. New York, NY: Jorge Pinto Books
Meban, M. (2009). The aesthetic as a process of dialogical interaction: A case of collective art praxis. Art education, 62(6), p. 32-38.
Part of the discourse: Barbara Kruger. (2018). Retrieved February 28, 2019 from https://art21.org/watch/extended-play/barbara-kruger-part-of-the-discourse-short/
Doris Salcedo: Istanbul. (2010). Retrieved February 28, 2019 from https://art21.org/watch/extended-play/doris-salcedo-istanbul-short/
Sturken, M., & Cartwright, L. (2018). Practices of Looking (Third Edition). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
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