tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2344981180035127840.post4670716446426335775..comments2023-05-09T06:52:16.263-07:00Comments on Neighborhood Watch: Steal This ArtChristyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14762814181349108405noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2344981180035127840.post-58177162294103758052009-08-31T06:23:57.856-07:002009-08-31T06:23:57.856-07:00Lynn, thanks for the fascinating update! It's ...Lynn, thanks for the fascinating update! It's wonderful (and I'd think rare) that the curator would have to confront the artists whose work he appropriates. That really is the best litmus test for this kind of thing, and interesting that it also comes up a no decision.Christyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14762814181349108405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2344981180035127840.post-8375575313748329872009-08-30T09:56:59.254-07:002009-08-30T09:56:59.254-07:00Peter Lemke, the curator, said he had conversation...Peter Lemke, the curator, said he had conversations with some of the street artists that saw their own work in the gallery during the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Fest. Some hated that he had taken their art, some were delighted that he had taken their art.<br /><br />So even the artists, as a collective, can't choose a side.Lynn Stevenshttp://peoplingplaces.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2344981180035127840.post-61805809168683921912009-08-30T05:12:06.139-07:002009-08-30T05:12:06.139-07:00Thanks for all the excellent food for thought, eve...Thanks for all the excellent food for thought, everyone. Tracy, I especially like the Berlin Wall example. Glad this is ambivalent-making for others as it is for me.Christyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14762814181349108405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2344981180035127840.post-46695277504425278292009-08-29T14:37:43.314-07:002009-08-29T14:37:43.314-07:00What's really a shame is that there isn't ...What's really a shame is that there isn't a public entity taking on the task of collecting and preserving these works--local arts councils or museums, perhaps. Their being removed from their context troubles me, but not as much as the privatization of what was intended to be public (but not official) art.Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10223441754197927551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2344981180035127840.post-33769071033818030932009-08-29T09:49:02.873-07:002009-08-29T09:49:02.873-07:00I'm finding it hard to take sides.
It seems k...I'm finding it hard to take sides.<br /><br />It seems kind of wrong to preserve something that was meant to be impermanent, but I like that there are no dollars at work in his intentions with these pieces. I do like that I am getting to see these pieces, too, when I wouldn't otherwise be able to . . . but then I'm not the intended audience: they're for the street spaces and the people who use them on a daily basis.<br /><br />I find myself wanting to extend this test to other spaces/public design and see if we feel the same way: what about someone who has preserved a piece of graffiti from the Berlin Wall, mortar and all? okay, or not? What about someone who has salvaged an old, hand-painted business sign from a village in Mexico and hung it in the kitchen of a house in Denver?<br /><br />And I just have to say: I love those little buildings in the exhibit!tracyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06620325789994488046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2344981180035127840.post-26253640298298201192009-08-28T11:42:32.923-07:002009-08-28T11:42:32.923-07:00I think his theory has merit to a point, but it...I think his theory has merit to a point, but it's weak. Yes, these would probably be thrown in a dumpster, so saving them is a good thing. However, subverting the authorities also subverts the artist's intent and shortens the street life of the work—which denies future viewers the right to see/encounter it.<br /><br />It falls apart completely when he hangs it in a gallery/exhibition space. If that was the intent of the artist, that would be the avenue taken. These works are meant to be on the street.<br /><br />That said, I think most street artists give up their work to whatever comes along. They'd probably just shrug their shoulders at this argument. Street art is temporary and its trajectory unpredictable.lesliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00274006008564412040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2344981180035127840.post-88386570413337053962009-08-28T09:18:53.790-07:002009-08-28T09:18:53.790-07:00Wow - that's a fascinating dilemma. I get his ...Wow - that's a fascinating dilemma. I get his intention, and I'm sympathetic to it, but I think I lean more towards not interfering with the artist's intent.<br /><br />Then again, it's possible he'll mount an exhibition decades from now, and I'll be grateful that he did it. I'm perplexed.Whetstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10023702953449966191noreply@blogger.com