WEEK 2 Aesthetic Evangelists

 

First, their authority is understood to derive from the process of a pedagogically-based "collaboration". This is an "exchange," in which the artist, by surrendering some degree of their creative autonomy in negotiations with a given group over the production of a project is understood to have gained in return some authority to speak from the group's position or on their behalf. The second point of anchorage is founded on a moment of transference (usually some event in the artists' past), that establishes a moral equivalence between their position and that of the community.(Kester,8)

In exploring how artists become involved and “collaborate” with a community or group, as he says it has these anchors that really differentiate community-based art from something different. How the relationship is a give and take, a symbiotic relationship between artist and community where they both help each other to grow.  Also that the artist has a basis or background of relatability to find a common ground with the people or idea they are trying represent.

The terms "public" and "community" imply two very different relationships between the artist and the administrative apparatus of the city. The public artist most commonly interacts with urban planners, architects, and city agencies concerned with the administration of public buildings and spaces, while the community-based public artist more commonly interacts with social service agencies and social workers (women's shelters, homeless advocates, neighborhood groups, etc.). (Kester,2)

This really looks at and defines the underlying driving force of the art and who it is really for/benefiting. The art might be beautiful for the community, or have a picture of the communities idol, or be an attraction because it was made by some famous artist. Does it represent the community or the artist? Is it providing anything lasting for the community? Did the artist grow and identify with the piece or the people?

This examination must begin with an understanding of the current moral economy of capitalism, and the history of liberal reform. More specifically, this outpouring of compassion and concern over "community" must be understood in relation to the successful assimilation in the U.S. of conservative arguments about the underlying causes of poverty, social and cultural inequality, and disenfranchisement.(Kester,12)

Being aware of the lens at which larger organizations than the individual calculate decisions and make theories. It brings an understanding as to why community based art is so important and why there is an increasing divide. As artist as a community member, as people we to understand this and understand the power of creating for the community.

ACE - Week 2

1. The terms public and community imply two very different relationships between the artist and the administrative apparatus of the city. Where is the line drawn between public and community art? Communities are groups of people who share similar values, what ever those may be. It is important that they artist be able to identify, and identify with that community which they are working with.
2. What really is the relationship between an artist and the “community” or “public”, more so, what should the relation ship be? At the beginning of section one, Pierre Bordieu states that an artists collaboration “might consist simply of a particular group, functioning as the subject mater for a project, or it might extend tot he artist somehow involving a given subject or group of subject in the process of creative decision making” (4). Often times it seems as if artists have appointed themselves as the spokes person for the community and that it is their art which is going to to bring in rapid change to their community and that their art is bettering the people and the culture, but, are they really the chosen person, or the best person to go about that? 
3. A direct example of this relationship and form of representation is that of Alfredo Jaar’s exhibit of “one or Two Things I Know About Them”. Jaar, was elected, chosen, to represent this community of Bangladeshi people in a gallery. This collection of images captioned with derogatory descriptions from another were taken back by these remarks, demanding that they be removed. The images were taken down. As shown in the reading this is an unusual thing to happen as often the community does not often have an opinion in what can and cannot be shown, more so, they often do not have the power to have the art taken down such as the situation here. This, I think, has to do with the fact that he was appointed as a representative of this community. This is how it should work. The artist making art, the community stepping in when they need to, and everything being alright. 
4. As said in the reading this authority to be the spokesperson comes from Jaar, “surrendering some degree of their creative autonomy.” It was a known between Jaar and the people that they may not approve of his decisions, and with that they have the power to speak against it. It is this shifting of autonomy that allowed Jaar to make those decisions. Bordieu’s “second point of anchorage” being “founded on a moment of transference that establishes a moral equivalence between their position and that of the community” Is highly important. The artist must be able to relate to the community which they are serving. In Jaar’s case, his exile from Chile, in Hope Sandro’s case her visits to Catherine Street, it was these turning points in their lives that allow them to relate to the community that they are working with.

Week Two - AESTHETIC EVANGELISTS

Week Two - AESTHETIC EVANGELISTS

1. The views of the public art administrative teams verses community groups.

There is broad relationship between “public” and “community” art and how it comes to intuition. One type explores the ethics of art in the community deeper than the other. In such cases of public art, artists works directly with city officials, architects and city agencies concerned with the delegation of city owned spaces. (Kester 2) The city is not concerned with the ethic of the artist’s goals, rather they are more interested in the impact the art will have on the city itself, not the inhabitants. Community art I feel explores and questions the ethical reasons behind such art that is built within community groups. The artist has the ability to take discussions on their own tangents to get down to the answers. There becomes reason to “community” art thats more than how it effects budgets and long term longevity of the city. 

1. Artists have trouble separating themselves with the norm definition of “community art” In most cases, community arts is “often used  to demarcate those works that are produced by, or address, subjects defined by their differences from a white, upper-middle class norm”.

A big misunderstanding of “community” art and which becomes a moral principle in society is the immediate definition it receives from the public, “In most cases, community arts is “often used  to demarcate those works that are produced by, or address, subjects defined by their differences from a white, upper-middle class norm”. (Kester 4) How is it that society labels community art has misprivilege and as a lower class? Most of the projects do end up overlapping and exposing both these issues, but how can community art portray itself to a better portrayal of community based art that is based upon boundaries, masks, and social issues?

1. In order for public art to become true to the community it is surrounded by, the artist is tasked with objectifying themselves into “feeling their oppression and to express their pain and moral outrage”.

Dedeau’x process of Soul Shadow’s exposed a side of prison life that no one would expect to image. The way that inmates opened up and creative a personal narrative of redemption shows the true value of art. A prison is not a community, its a forced gathering community brought together by the system. The fact that inmates created a community with themselves and furthermore created a total different community with Dedeau’x is a spectacle. In this work of community engagement and art, these inmates wear two mask, their mask that got them into prison and the masks they leave with that they themselves want to becomes. Forever, they will always carry both. Society’s perception of them will most likely be of the masks inmates most want to put behind them. Dedeau’x project presented a true journey towards self actualization for the inmates she discovered.

1. Politically motivated art as Kester discusses shows the trouble with the art creation process. The trouble with a lot of politically motivated art is a failure of nerve. (Kester 29) I feel artists should task the largest risk possible when producing to explore the outcome, or outburst,that society shows. When art is created without an know outcome, there is no exploration, no risk, there ends up being a forecasted conclusions.  Truly taking a risk means not knowing what's going to happen in the end. Taking risks coincides nicely with the battle between “public” and “community” based art projects. Risk is calculated when working with city planners and agencies, but a larger risk, or unknowns, can be achieved with community groups and the responses from society. 

Week 2

Jake Maize

I was so happy that the first section—“The Politically Coherent Community”—began to address a super basic question I had at the beginning of last week’s reading: What is a “community” in this context? Kester’s definition is simple, but was a good first step. A community is a group of people who share values, nationality, race, gender, etc. He also went on to point out that “communities” are often “other” from white, middle class. I agree that its important for an artist to identify where they are in relation to the community they’re trying to engage with. This reading really brought home the difference between public and community art, and the importance of them. Also, in my eyes, cleared up where the artist’s role in community art is. I don't believe I have a right to speak for a community that I’m not apart of. I do believe that its the responsibility of an artist who's looking to engage with a community to support the community’s voice. The passages talking about the fine line between using your skills and status as an artist to channel a communities voice and speak for them stood out to me. It clarified a concern I had about my potential role in these collaborations. The idea of me—having level of privilege—coming to a community, whom might have a harder time being heard, to produce art in their name was… troubling. This reading helped me find my potential place in this work. In the intro of this article, Kester clarifies that ‘new genre’ public art focuses on the collaborative process, rather then the resulting art piece. Its about getting a community engaged in the actual practice of art making. The distinction Kester makes between public art and community-specific art also more neatly answered some of the questions posed by my classmates last week about the practical differences in collaboration between a public artist and community-specific artist. “The public artist most commonly interacts with urban planners, architects, and city agencies concerned with the administration of public buildings and spaces, while the community-based public artist more commonly interacts with social service agencies and social workers.” (p2)

Observations that were brought up about the reading as I read Grant H. Kester's article. On page.8, Kester brings up the point that when a community artist collaborates with a community that they to a degree give up some of their own creative autonomy over the project. This is important because an artist coming from outside the community may see the community in a different light than what the community see's themselves. An outside artist has the ability to create work that may define how people see the community so it should have input from the community itself.

In the subject II: MALLEABLE SUBJECTS AND MORAL PEDAGOGY. Kester begins to portray conservatives in a way that seems that they despise and attack arts as it contributes to values of lazy American's who do not make an adequate living and will rely on welfare. "It is not coincidental that the two primary areas of conservative attack, at least until the recent assault on the "gay agenda," have been welfare and arts funding." - Kester. While it is apparent that conservative priorities do not focus on the arts. It comes across that Kester has not made support in communities that make up conservatives.

In the piece "Soul Shadows" derived from young inmates to create a ""scared straight" experience for so-called "Youth at Risk...", I believe that this project focused too much on creating a piece that truly spoke to this community rather that it placed its focus on the community to allow the experience be created from them. This seemed to have been going in the direction to replicate a specific idea.

"The artist becomes a channel or medium for the congealed residues of both their own and other people's experiences of social oppression." on page 25. This is a very agreeable statement made about the power of the artist. The artist coming into a community can give a voice to those of the oppressed and incite the community on the importance of issues. They even how the power to change the way people think.

Week Two: Aesthetic Evangelists

In review of Kester's article breaking things down into "community" and "public" was a great defining line that was drawn in the sand to separate the two works in a way that was fairly thought provoking and brought to light the administrative side that so wildly drives art. We see art around us daily and sometimes this art can have a political charge to it, with that community based art that is politically charged stands for a right or reason, or possibly for social justice. My question in return is, if something that is done for a social project to raise awareness for something, is it community-based public art, or has it slid into the category that is political art which is in turn elevates the artist for being the one who is responsible for this awareness of political justice?

Secondly, and this is something that I learned more about in one of my other classes here, when an artists creates in order to raise awareness or display the beauty of a culture (especially when they sell their art after) when does it switch over from community based art to an artist using the situations of a community in order to capitalize on them. In the case of Vik Muniz and the movie Wasteland one of his portraits sold for $64,000 and because he chose to make a movie was nominated for an Oscar launching the success of the movie (don't get me wrong I love his art, but it all just sounds a little fishy) (Moakley 2011). In return Times says he donated 100% of the proceeds of the artwork back to the workers in Rio, however multiple sources say otherwise, and one even says he only donated $50k and then once the movie became a success he felt led to donate more even though his portraits sold for much more (Carol 2010). 



Bibliograhy: 
Moakley, Paul. "Portraits with Purpose: Vik Muniz in Waste Land." Time. Time, 22 Mar. 2011. Web. 24 Jan. 2017

Kino, Carol. "Where Art Meets Trash and Transforms Life." The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Oct. 2010. Web. 24 Jan. 2017.

Week 2 post

In "Aesthetic Evangelists: Conversion and Empowerment in Contemporary Art" it let me enjoy collaborating with other artists and if it is engaging with a community then it makes it even more special.  I thought the meaning between "public" and "community implied two different meanings. One interacting with urban planners, architects, and city agencies. While the community based public artist more commonly interacts with social service agencies and social workers.

"I'd been doing do many exhibitions [of her own art work] and wanted to get more involved in the community. [Homelessness] was an issue I saw every time I walked out the door. . . . I wanted to understand, but I never knew what they thought. I thought that art, which was what I had to offer, could be a means for them to speak for themselves. (italics mine)"

This quote from Hope Sandrow, founder of the Artist and Homeless Collaborative really spoke to me because it got me to be involved in more art with my culture. I watched Spanish Artists engage with an audience from their own community and it heartwarming and messages are clear.  I know political art is making a big impact especially in today's society. It's a way to reach out to others to not use violence, but art to spread something internationally.

The confusion that exists between political representation and symbolic representation is evident in community art projects that fail to distinguish between the artist's ability to "exhibit" a given community in a project, performance, or image (an ability which is typically made possible by the artists' privileged relationship to the various institutions charged with public management of "communities" such as the homeless, the incarcerated, etc.), and the authority to take up an enunciative position that is sanctioned by that group's social experience.

Art is or should be an agent of social change, and that everyone is an artist. There is no doubt in the minds of community artists that social change takes place- for artists and community members alike... the production of art by people who don't define themselves as artists-is a radical, transformative act.  Community art involves individuals from a particular group or neighborhood. For it to be effective, there must be a core number of participants, including some type of community leadership committed to participating for the duration of the project.  The experience of coming together should have emphasis on the processes of building a community of relationships and being creative. These processes combine to provide a structure for social interaction.