PxlDan
A hodgepodge of creative endeavors
The last time an art project garnered much nationwide media attention was probably in 2005 when Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Gates" was on view in New York's Central Park. One writer referred to the work as "a billowy gift to the city" and "the first great public art event of the 21st century".
It can be argued the this century's next great work of public art is taking place right now at Trafalgar Square in London. Artist Antony Gormley is inviting 2400 UK residents to take their place on the Fourth Plinth for an hour each. The plinth is to be occupied by someone 24 hours a day for 100 days - transforming the individual into a living monument and a representative of the city, Title "One and Other" the artwork is billed as a living portrait of modern London. What a participant chooses to do with their time on the plinth is entirely up to them. As I write this post, a middle age woman in a sun dress is saying hello to her "mum and dad". Want to know who's on the Plinth right now? Click here for a live video feed.
The plinth has generated a great deal of attention; with the public and media enthusiastically approving of the work and a handful of "art" critics griping about this and that.
Regardless of whether one likes it or not, the work succeeds at engaging the public to think about, and participate in, the arts. It may not be as entertaining to watch as a magician hanging upside down for 60 hours but, thankfully David Blaine is not scheduled for a hour on the plinth.
With a heightened sense of security and a slight mistrust of the arts (and general public at large), it would seem unlikely that this very public form of contemporary art could happen in the U.S. But why Britain? I was recently reading an article on the arts and culture in British life which tried to explain how the Brits felt about cultural life -"Take museums: in no other country is the idea of their ownership by the public, their status as a part of civic life, their role as the places we go to examine ourselves and the world, so strong. It is the deep-rooted idea that our national museums and our arts are the property of the people that has led to the widespread embracing of One and Other. Woe betide the government that attempts to introduce arts spending cuts."
In light of this public outpouring of participatory support, an organization called the British Art Resistance (B.A.R.) has declared this week "National Art Hate Week" to protest the business of culture. B.A.R. was founded by Billy Childish, also know as the founder of Stuckism - an International art movement supporting contemporary figurative painting. For the weeklong project Childish is asking participants to visit a local gallery and actively hate whatever is being shown there.
A recent article sums up the movement: "Where public opinion holds the likes of the Tate and National Gallery to be repositories of artistic value, National Art Hate Week largely considers them vacuous factories of business and bureaucracy."
Childish goes on to say "Only 20 years ago, people would have been outraged by this fourth plinth charade. Now, the public are robotically complicit with a manipulative elite who make culture homogenous and hateful."
The Art Hate website's statement of intent includes such jewels as "NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK has been instigated for the disruptive betterment of culture.", and "If a child offers you a painting during NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK you are to turn away in disgust." Visit the site to view the inspired propaganda posters and spread the word.
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