Week One From Site to Community

Week Once Arts in Community Engagement - From Site to Community

“Culture in Action” a community based arts program based in Chicago, is brought to the attention of art seekers and the public in Miwon Kwon’s piece, “One Place After Another.” In this chapter Culture in Action produces a few thoughts regarding the implementation and process of site-specific art in today’s culture. When I think art I first think of a singular individual creating a process to produce some piece that has some resonating thought of the artist. Now, Kwon talks about the process of site-specific and engaging the community. Does site specific art need to engage a group of people or a community? I feel as if personal engagement is “in the eyes of the beholder” and can be discovered in a multitude of ways. Art, for lack of better terms, does not need to be forced onto a community. As site-specific art is the base for Culture in Action, wouldn’t a better term for their goal be, audience-specify? Site-specific art has now seemed to engage more than an abstract view of the artist. Such specific work is now being used as a highway for social issues. How can art, that presents social justice, moral issues, and government outcries bring a community together and produce art? Is this art just an avenue for public views to be exposed and brought to the attention of innocent observers? As site-specific works expands it’s portfolio, to what extent does public art have to abide by rules and censorship. The minute public art, or site specific is entitled to censorship, artists will only create more art as backlash. The struggle I have, as a student engaged in a community of artists, “reading” art and experiencing whats presented before me is how do I react positively to art. Do I need to positively react? Is it acceptable to disagree with the art before me, can I react puiblically or does such reaction need to be reserved?

Cameron Pieratt