Every new art movement comes with a reactionary group of protestors claiming that it's not /real/ art. Social practice art, I believe, is no exception. We've seen this story played out time and time again. Social practice art is just the newest thing for critics to berate, and I believe that in a couple of decades, this movement will become part of the greater art lexicon the same way Impressionism is. Art that pushes boundaries, especially if that boundary is the question of what exactly art is, will always discomfort. However, social practice art presents a series of new challenges unique to its purpose and style.
It goes beyond social practice art. It's all contemporary art. Just take a look at student attitude of contemporary art in the microcosm of MLWGS. The amount of times I've heard things akin to "I could do that" when talking about semi-modern art movements like abstract expressionism is bizarre. I think, as usual, the best way to approach an explanation of this disconnect between contemporary art and the public (in regards to the question of what constitutes art) is to look at some history. In the 1800s, the Impressionists were initially regarded as untalented artists who were needlessly pushing the boundaries of art. The idea of visible brush strokes and the inclusion of the artist’s own perceptions and experiences had been unheard of, causing the style to face harsh opposition from the conventional art community of France. In the present day, Impressionist work is showcased right next to the Old Masters. Every subsequent art movement following Impressionism, all of which extended the definition of art in some way, has received backlash from the audience. In their contemporary times, Cubism looked too primitive, Dadaism was too simple, and Precisionists were too stiff, but now these artists are displayed in national galleries. It’s almost cyclical in its nature - a group of modern artists push the boundaries of art, conventional critics and community rail against it, fifty or so years later the movement is praised to have produced beautiful and new art. Applying this pattern to the modern day, I think we’re just too close to see the bigger picture forming. So social practice art. Members of the traditional art world are acting the way their historical counterparts did: reactionarily. Maureen Mullarkey, a NY painter, wrote "that art is increasingly not about art at all" and that is it "fast becoming a variant of community organizing by soi-disant promoters of their own notions of the common good" (7). Undoubtedly, social practice art is distinct. Aesthetic takes a backseat to more egalitarian purposes. It presents a host of new challenges; traditional museums have difficulty displaying such art within their own institutions (5). But with it, I believe, it presents a host of new benefits. I've always believed art has been inaccessible to members of the non-wealthy human population (call it controversial, but art is an indisputable luxury that requires excess time, and increasingly, knowledge of history to be able to enjoy; I use non-wealthy as a descriptor for those who do not have to worry about food being on the table). However, social practice art is able to reach outside of this base demographic. For example, a private institution founded by Emily Pulitzer that staffed two full-time social workers who helped former prison inmates and homeless veterans as part of a curatorial program was able to reach out to the poor and create real change for non-aesthetic reasons (6). In the end, social practice art will absorb into mainstream art and carve a place for itself in the world, and the definition of art will be pushed again by another movement. But for now, it's just a waiting game until that day comes.
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My home project is going very slowly. It is taking an obnoxious amount of time for the gold on the waves to dry. And the way I'm doing it makes it so that I have to wait for a bunch of it to dry before I can do more.
My in class project, though, is going along a lot faster than I thought. It only takes me a day to get a sketch and outline. I took this picture of Max this week and I'll sketch it at another time. I took this nice picture of Josh to use as a reference for my new oil painting. And I did this nice outline of Mackenzie to continue my project I started in like November. Overall things are very nice.
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
March 2019
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