Public Art: Agency and Activism

PUBLIC ART: AGENCY AND ACTIVISM  

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Departing from traditional forms of sculpture, the public works artist embraces a participatory, site-specific conceptualization of public works that is aligned with contemporary movements, such as fluxus, earthworks andperformance art. Combining history with theory and practice, students will learn about the genre of the public works artist at the end of the 20th and the start of the 21st century.

Over the course of a semester, students will be introduced to a spectrum of post-studio artists, whose work representsa commitment to instrumentalism over autonomous practice, and whose work joins artistic agency with communityactivism. Students will gain an understanding of how the public works artist migrates from a position of detachment to a position of engagement, examining the fruitful intersection of the social, political and historic realms of art making.

Students will be asked to research a public works artist and project, as well as develop a project proposal of their owndesign in response to a perceived community issue or need. Throughout the course, students will be invited to think imaginatively and critically about the changing role of artists in contemporary culture.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

* To examine historical and critical perspectives to understand artistic practice in the 21st century.

* To differentiate “plop art,” art that is purely decorative and self-referential, to public works that grow out of civic
dialog and a sense of place.

* To engage in interdisciplinary, action-based, qualitative research to cultivate new ideas and methods of
interventions aimed at enhancing concepts of community within the urban landscape.

SELECTED TEXTS

Armour, E. T. (1998). Deconstruction, Feminist Theology, and the Problem of Difference. Chicago: The University of

Chicago Press.

Bendau, M. (1996). Mierle Laderman Ukeles [videorecording]. South Burlington: Vt: Annenberg/CPB Collection.

Bogdanov, B. (1994). Public Interventions [videorecording]. Boston, MA: The Institute of Contemporary Art.

Bogdanov, B. (1995). Rachel Whiteread [videorecording]. Boston, MA: Institute of Contemporary Art.

Bogdanov, B. (1998). Bunker Hill Monument Projection [videorecording]. Boston, MA: Institute of Contemporary Art.

Chandler, A., & Neumark, N. (Eds.). (2005). At a Distance: Precursors to Art and Activism on the Internet.
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Dissanayake, E. (1988). What is Art For? Seattle: University of Washington Press.

Enwezor, O. (2002). “The Black Box.” In O. Enwezor (Ed.), Documenta11_Platform5: Exhibition (Vol. 11, pp. 42-55).
Kassel: Hatje Cantz Publishers.

Felshin, N. (Ed.). (1995). But Is It Art? The Spirit of Art as Activism. Seattle: Bay Press.

Friedman, K. (Ed.). (1998). The Fluxus Reader. London: Academy Editions.

Frostig, K., & Halamka, K. A. (Eds.). (2007). Blaze: Discourse on Art, Women and Feminism. Newcastle, UK:
Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Gablik, S. (1991). The Reenchantment of Art. New York: Thames and Hudson, Inc.

Gablik, S. (1995). Conversations Before the End of Time: Dialogues on Art, Life & Spiritual Renewal.
New York: Thames and Hudson, Inc.

Garcia-Ferraz, N., Horsfield, K., & Miller, B. (1987). Ana Mendieta: Fuego de Tierra [videorecording].
New York: Videocassette. Women Make Movies..

Guerilla Girls Broad Band. from www.ggbb.org/

Kester, G. H. (Ed.). (1998). Art, Activism, and Oppositionality. Durham: Duke University Press.

Lacy, S. (Ed.). (1995). Mapping the Terrain: New Genre Public Art. Seattle: Bay Press.

Lippard, L. (1984). Get the Message?: A Decade of Art for Social Change. New York: E.P. Dutton.

Lippard, L. R. (1997). The Lure of the Local. New York: The New Press.

Lovejoy, M. (2004). Digital Currents: Art in the Electronic Age. New York: Routledge.

Mock, F. L. (1994). Maya Lin [videorecording]: A Strong Clear Vision. Santa Monica: CA: Sanders & Mock
Productions/Ocean Releasing.

Raven, A. (1998). Crossing Over: Feminism and Art of Social Concern. Ann Arbor: UMI.

Riedelsheimer, T. (2001). Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time [videorecording].
Germany: Deutscher Kamerapreis.

Saltzman, L. (2006). Making Memory Matter. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Sayre, H. (1989). The Object of Performance. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Senie, H. F. (2002). The Tilted Arc Controversy: Dangerous precedent? Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Usherwood, P. (2004). Public Art and Collective Amnesia. In J. Harris (Ed.), Art, Money, Parties (pp. 115-132).
Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.

Wang, D. S. (2003). Practice in Critical Times. Art Journal, 62(2), 68-81.