This marking period's "Connect" reading addresses the relatively new art phenomenon, Social Practice Art (SPA). While this movement has roots from decades ago, it is emerging more and more recently. SPA is socially driven art, that often involves urban renewal or bringing attention/aid to a social issue. One example, for example, is artist Rick Lowe's "Project Row House," in which he transformed neglected and disadvantaged houses in a Texas neighborhood into a temporary cultural center for the local African American community. The movement, according to the article, served as a "reaction against the excesses of individualism;” artists who viewed their personal artwork as self-indulgent strove to give back to underserved communities or make a tangible social impact, instead of a personal one. According to Pablo Helguera, social practice art goes against formal art education, which deals with self-exploration. SPA, in contrast, is about listening and healthy communication.
This article gave me an entirely new perspective on this type of artwork; formerly, I was solely aware of Mel Chin as a Social Practice Artwork through our classroom "Artist Spotlight." Art often historically has had political roots or motivation, but Social Practice Art brings that to a head: instead of the art serving as a call to the change the artists wants to see, the artwork was the change the artist wanted to see. But what I was unaware of was that the art is not always about socio-political issues: it appears that much of the artwork centers around developing relationships between people. In fact, a lot of the artwork seemed to be an indictment of modern culture and social media, as it gives people locations, often outdoors, to interact with other people in their community or with similar interests or a similar background.
However, the article had the major weakness of primarily addressing the benefits of this type of artwork, and only minimally addresses the criticisms of the movement. The main criticism, naturally, is that most of this artwork is only temporary: it strikes some as a bit of a conceit to believe that a temporary piece of artwork would make a lasting impact, and it would be more helpful to actually create permanent structures to help communities or cause a difference. Additionally, the article raises into question what exactly constitutes art. This work, which appears to often be a mixture of multi-media artwork and performance art, might strike some (read: me) as more community service or philanthropy than true artwork in the traditional sense.
This article gave me an entirely new perspective on this type of artwork; formerly, I was solely aware of Mel Chin as a Social Practice Artwork through our classroom "Artist Spotlight." Art often historically has had political roots or motivation, but Social Practice Art brings that to a head: instead of the art serving as a call to the change the artists wants to see, the artwork was the change the artist wanted to see. But what I was unaware of was that the art is not always about socio-political issues: it appears that much of the artwork centers around developing relationships between people. In fact, a lot of the artwork seemed to be an indictment of modern culture and social media, as it gives people locations, often outdoors, to interact with other people in their community or with similar interests or a similar background.
However, the article had the major weakness of primarily addressing the benefits of this type of artwork, and only minimally addresses the criticisms of the movement. The main criticism, naturally, is that most of this artwork is only temporary: it strikes some as a bit of a conceit to believe that a temporary piece of artwork would make a lasting impact, and it would be more helpful to actually create permanent structures to help communities or cause a difference. Additionally, the article raises into question what exactly constitutes art. This work, which appears to often be a mixture of multi-media artwork and performance art, might strike some (read: me) as more community service or philanthropy than true artwork in the traditional sense.