The Aesthetic Elevator » Public art

The unmarketing socially benevolent artist

pcNielsen — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:56:54 +0000

Not that I dislike the idea of being an artist on and of the Great Plains, but this would be the life. It seems to have all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster. (Is that a good thing? Since it’s starting out in real life, I’m using it as a good thing in this context.)

Create for yourself a persona and carry out creative acts of artistry to bring awareness to social injustices around the world. JR, a French photograffeur, was awarded this year’s annual TED prize with accompanying “One wish to change the world.” The artist is very protective of his true identity, at first wearing sunglasses and a hat pulled down over his face in a Skype interview with TED.

A number of JR’s monumental photographic installations are “unauthorised,” pasted on the sides of buildings as inconspicuously as possible while officials who will most certainly object to the message go about their socially unjust business. One such installation was going up in China when he was being interviewed by the New York Times; JR was worried they might get into trouble. “We went into the building next door, and it was empty, and we went up to the tower, and nobody stopped us, so we just started working,” he said in the article. “It’s crazy. This city is so huge and overgrown, the more you’re in the middle of things, the more you feel transparent.”

The money the artist garners from sales and prizes go back into more ambitious projects around the world acording to the Times’ interview. See the artist’s installations on his website.

Filed under: Art, Artist profile, Business of art, Censorship, Graffiti, Inspired by, Photography, Public art

“Art was not made for evangelism”

pcNielsen — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:13:02 +0000

This is an H.R. Rookmaaker quote that I read on Rebecca Horton’s Passionately Alive blog quite a few months ago. It’s chalk full of pithy goodness on a few different topics.

So there are many strange problems in our culture. We have to think and work to solve these problems. They are not just Christian problems but problems of culture in general; many people are working on them, and no one has yet been able to find a solution. Now, the solution is never just a little book or a little definition or a little plan, and it will certainly take one or two generations to accomplish. The answer is not another kind of utilitarian art, Christian utilitarian art, because we shouldn’t be prostituting art to become something it was never made to be. Art was not made for evangelism. We should start a new development that bridges the gaps and solves the problem of the unreality of art in the museum. But first we have to pose the right questions. However, we are only just beginning to see those questions.

Filed under: Art, Art and faith, Business of art, Christianity, Creative catalyst, Living incarnationally, Modern culture, Public art

LinkLuv: 15 May

pcNielsen — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:34:53 +0000

Heinz is trying to breed sweeter tomato. Even though I don’t really like tomatoes, as an amateur foodie this story interests me. The rising cost of corn syrup prompted this ketchup producer to aim for a sweeter tomato. Um, ever heard of sugar Heinz, or sugar-free? Corn syrup isn’t really good for us anyway. And, in truth, the best foods are always corn syrup free.

The Denver International Airport finally installed a sculpture it’s been waiting for for more than ten years. ParentDish appropriately labeled the beast an apocalyptic My Little Pony. The large blue mustang has red eyes that light up at night. The delayed installation is partly on account of the artist being killed by a section of the sculpture as he was creating it. Apocalyptic indeed.

[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evHYwAFIxmU]