Who decides Art is Art?

Even though I live in Freeport Maine a couple towns over and about 15-20 minute drive to Portland I am watching what is going there very carefully. Why should I care that much? Well Portland might not be the capital but it could be a place that sets some rules that will have effects across the state. Giving other towns and cities the light to tighten their reins on what art is.

Now don’t think that this is a completely new thing in art. Because this is  the kind of problem that art has had probably since the first cave painting. I can only picture the hunting scene be drawn with white powder and some one say it’s only real art when you burn the wood and draw with black charcoal. For centuries art also wasn’t even considered art. The early sculptures and fresco’s where not made just because someone wanted to. They where made because somebody wanted to to create stuff but was only allowed on commission and was very specific what and what not to do. When Leonardo was drawing in the dark and in secrecy the human body. His drawings of inventions and the human figure now are considered masterpieces. When what they really are are drawings for ideas and studies.

Jump ahead a couple thousand years and you will see the same thing going on. But now sculptors and painters can more or less make art for what it is. Art a form of entertainment. But then came photography, and that scared the hell out of artists, painters for sure because how where they supposed to compete with something that can capture a moment and in such detail? It was blown off for decades. Which it was used manly for commercial use and news reporting to give an image to help tell a story. Even though there where artists out shooting away trying to show that it is not threat to painters and the art world, but a new form of art. Ansel Adams is considered one of the best landscape photographers, yet he had to fight and prove that photography was an art form in the start. It wasn’t until roughly the 60’s that photography finally was given the green light to be an art form. In which even drawing the basis to most artists is still on shaky grounds of being art. It is more so an art but in the some of the more tight art groups it’s looked down upon. Even acrylics had a hard time being called paints. Which there are still oil painters that claim acrylics are not real because it’s a plastic paint. Which in my personal opinion if an artist knows how to use their materials and well, then it doesn’t matter if it’s watercolor, oil, or acrylic.

Now with that background what I am following that’s going on in Portland Maine is a quote from the cities attorney:

“The court has already determined what art is. It’s not up to an artist what art is.”
-Mary Costigan, City Attorney (Portland, ME)

Now how does that work? Artists can’t decide their work to be art? This day and age one of the hard things with contemporary art is what is art? You have performance art, fiber art, functional art, the list can go on and on. Now isn’t it easier to have the non art world settle the art worlds age long on going fight? And to use the courts to say that is and that is not art. Reasons why I am watching this is because of a danger that it makes me feel of where and how art is decided on. Because there are people that think that the jewelry they make is a true piece of art. Where someone looking at a painting that is all white and it’s all about the fact it’s 100 layers painted on, each layer at 10:56am everyday for 100 days. People will say, “That’s art?” But having the courts claim they know what art is, well that is dangerous. To me it’s not a Freedom of Speech thing. Because what this is all about is people selling art on the streets of Portland when they where told it’s open and now they are trying to slam the door shut. I see it as a problem for Portland’s Public Art groups having a harder time later when they want to put something in a public space and the courts say, that is not what we call art so no. And some of the internal bickering that will go on even more will be a problem. The reason why I don’t think that it’s a Freedom of Speech thing is only because it’s a commerce thing. To say selling art is a Freedom of Speech, that is different then saying you can’t make art that represents this. That is where blocking Freedom of Speech comes into play. But blocking what art is to sell, that’s a entirely different thing. Go to the MoMA, Milwaukee Museum, Portland Museum of Art, Boston, Chicago Art Institute, The Walker in Minnesota, any major museum anywhere and you will see from furniture and silverware in the design sections to Egyptian and Contemporary art work. All in which is called Art. Now for Portland to say a wooden spoon is not hand made and a form of art, they have not looked and educated them self on the history and show what is. The Portland Museum of Art will be having a show involving shaker furniture. Before questioning and saying what is and what is not, the courts need to really open their eyes and read up on somethings.

A response to another Yarn Bombers observation

After reading this great blog entry on the observation of another Yarn Bomber…(First if you want to read what they said before going on with this read Maluca Yarnbombing entry). I’ll wait...

Okay, now I’m assuming you have read the entry and now know that they were looking at monster feet and chicken feet moving up on a post and finding that it’s the city workers moving them so that they will not be damaged when cleaning the streets. I personally think it is fantastic and choose to assume that the workers liked having something different to look at other then the usual post. Now, it’s funny, because when we bombed Freeport, Maine, for International Yarn Bombing Day and Monster Foot day it was very interesting to see what happened to the works and who seems to really like them and who, oddly, has a problem. One restaurant, Azure Café, really enjoys it. The monster feet from June 11^th, as well as the additional ones on Monster Foot Day, were such a success they are still on the lights outside the building. The book store across the street leaves work up until it gets to a point that it looks a little shaggy and they take it inside. Some things they have even put aside for us to recollect and use later or just for display behind the counter. Surprisingly, Banana Republic, has left monster feet up on lamp posts, the Historical Society cracks me up by protecting things put up there. I even hear people talking about how when something fall off they pick them up and put them back! This means people around town are protecting these random works of art. Which is really pretty funny, sweet, and telling that art touches all of us in surprising ways.

Now, one thing I find funnier than the places that keep stuff up, is some of the ones that take them off right away. For example, a store that on International Yarn Bombing Day, June 11, 2011, my team was pretty sure this one store would be all for it. It’s a “Hippie” personality of a shop. So we figured that they would be laid back and want it. But, they were the first to take the two or three small things off the bench in front of the store. I went out early that morning to photograph the work in the morning light, the bench items were there, but when I talked to someone who went by an hour or so later, it turned out that the store people had taken it off. While I was pretty sure Banana Republic would have removed the feet that morning, they didn’t. And the other shop is a closer “local” shop. How ironic is that?

Now, I think one reason why yarn graffiti is more accepted is that it’s not permanently affixed to things. That is why I think most gorilla art that is not fixed to things and just placed is more accepted. It can be taken down when it fades or if it’s not liked by someone and it does not damage anything. Chalk, yarn, sculptures are all things that can happen without really getting people’s feathers too ruffled up. That and it is always safer when it’s humorous. Please share with us what your see happen and your observations of public art, from Yarn Bombing to stickers to graffiti. Keep your eyes open because little things may pop up when you least expect them! And if you can’t find any in your area, you can always make things happen.

A Lack of History

After talking with a friend I was thinking further about the lack of Art History understanding among artists. They seem to have no history knowledge, knowledge of only recent history, or only knowledge of particular history. I thought that was it, but it seems to be a larger lack of overall art history knowledge. Do they need to have everything perfectly on recall? No. Personally my best knowledge is Pop Art and Dadaism. But I can still understand and talk cave works to renaissance, the difference between Modern and Contemporary and more. It just seems that Artists have been working so hard to forget art history, that they may not be able to be part of the future history. Artist that will, are the ones that can look at the past, think about it, draw from it. To use elements of the past now and down the road will enrich current and future arts.

Do You Get Better Public Art When It’s Allowed?

When you go around and look around and look at or spot forms of public art which is more likely to draw your attention? “Street Art” (which in this writing is to sum up all non-traditional public art) or “Sanctioned Art”? For myself it’s a combo of both, depending on the style. I’m not against the traditional monumental brass sculpture. I just have a tendency to gravitate to grittier or more contemporary works.

With that said, I feel like that if more “Street Art” style where to combo with the traditional, it could help liven up towns and cities. When I walked around the Walker’s Sculpture Garden about 6 years ago it combined both contemporary and traditional. Something that groups trying to bring art to their towns should think about. This could be either having “Street Artists” work closely with “Traditional” and to show both methods in action. Or allow Contemporary to stand next to Traditional and not be afraid that they will clash. This could help bring young people to respect the work and also feel more included in town workings rather than feel kept away.

Now, the question was, “Do you get better public art when it’s allowed?” as always the answer is “Yes” and “No”. Depending on who is looking at the work and their taste. Being open to work - new and old, traditional and contemporary, street and non-street art you may be able to shorten the gap between the “Yes’s” and “No’s”.

PACA - Creative Conversations: "What's That? Public Art in Portland"

On Tuesday, September 20, PACA is hosted the first Creative Conversation in the fall series, "What's That? Public Art in Portland," from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. There are few things more controversial in the art world than Public Art. Who decides what becomes public art and what is the purpose? PACA is teaming up with Portland's Public Art Committee to bring you this introduction to those sculptures you see around town. We'll look at public art examples throughout history and in our own backyard. We'll discuss the opportunities and pitfalls for public art in Portland. Artists will also have the chance to find out the submission process for future projects.

I sat in and recorded the talk, I apologize for the technical problems that occurred during the recording.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Stickers

I have talked about graffiti, wheat pasting, yarn bombing and a lot more. I have yet to write about the art of Stickers. I find stickers come more strongly into play in areas that graffiti and wheat pasting get more aggressively fought against.

Stickers are smaller, quick, and easy to make. You can make a sticker, peel the back off while walking and can slap it on without stopping. You can also take a little more time, an  extra second or two to place  it more carefully. With digital editing printing stickers is easy! Plus it is also a lot cheaper these days to get them printed at Kinko’s or some online company. There are also “free stickers” that people use. People snag a small pile draw, paint or print on them then stick them around. The size is usually small so they are not seen as quickly, which means they can last a little longer.

There is a lot one can do to make a sticker and a lot of places to put them. Stickers are no longer just something kids buy to put on school stuff, but small and often multiple works of art. Look for stickers, you could be surprised at what you see. I’m just waiting for small stamps to move in.