Of course there’s “high” and “low” culture…right?

Is something like Strictly Come Dancing ever going to make people more self-aware; more inqusitive of the world around them; more appreciative of beauty (and ugliness); more disturbed by old codes of behaviour, than say…oh I don’t know, Hamlet? I’m not saying ligher entertainment has no place, but this idea that’s come up in discussions that we shouldn’t call it for it what it is because it’s ”elitist” to do so strikes me as very strange. There’s obvious differences in depth and approach between the arts of “high” culture and mass culture, even if nobody could say one is “better” than the other.

As T.S Eliot has said of poetry: “there is always the communication of some new experience, or some fresh understanding of the familiar, or the expression of something but have no words for, which enlarges our consciousness or refines our sensibility.”[1] Like Aristotle, we might take the view that art can cleanse us and offer all of us catharsis, tall and short, coloured and not-so-coloured, female and male, rich and poor…. [2] Art does indeed expand our understanding of ourselves and the external world and does help us understand concepts that are impossible to articulate in any other way; we when read or hear something GREAT, we can experience a  revlation of sorts and come away from the experience as “better” people, whether the work is terrifying or beautiful. Like the early Hegel, we may believe that art reveals truth in a direct, intuitive way, and I think that the more people can experience ”high” (or whatever you want to label it) art it in the public sphere, the better. 

 

   [1] Eliot, T.S, On Poetry and Poets, page 18

[2] Kraut, Richard, The Cambridge Companion to Plato, page 357

 J.S Mill distinguished between different forms of pleasure in conception of utilitarianism to counter criticisms of Bentham’s account of the theory. Take this passage from Martin Amis’ novel,  Money, for example: 

‘Watching television is one of my main interests, one of my chief skills.  Video films are another accomplishment of mine: diabolism, carnage, soft core.  I realize, when I can bear to think about it, that all my hobbies are pornographic in tendency… fast food, sex shows, space games, slot machines, video nasties, nude mags, drink, pubs, fighting, television, handjobs’[1].      

I am not judging such pleasures as good or bad (though Amis’ tone might indicate he is): but they are obviously of a different nature to, say, the sort of pleasure Gaudi might have got from completing designs for a Cathereral. In the same way, I think it is true that some types of public art can be distinguished from other types, and that public art of different depths will affect people in different ways. 

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[1] Martin Amis, Money, (Vintage, London: 2005), p. 67

Robert Logan

Fighting censorship through public art

I’ve been doing some research for my essay which is looking at the effect censorship has on public art and how much of an impact it has on the works produced in the public forum. I’ve found an really interesting group called ‘Street Arts and Buskers Advocates’  (http://www.communityartsadvocates.org/StreetArts.html) whose ethos is ‘celebrating self-expression as a basic human right essential for the healthy growth of youth, individuals and communities’. They speak out against the constraints of censorship through their work – they have fought cases all over America to allow for the legalisation and legitimatisation of street performances, including performances through music, mime and acting. They encourage street performances worldwide and try and inspire others to imitate their work and their success against the legal systems who try and restrict their work.

They are a programme run by the Community Arts Advocate Inc., a non-profit organisation ‘dedicated to expanding public awareness, participation in and support of the arts through performances and festivals, exhibits and workshops, publications and publicity, educational forums, nonprofit arts management consultation services, and collaborative projects.’

I found it very interesting to explore how many rules and regulations exist around people performing on the street and wondered what were others’ views about street performances? Do we like the improv music we hear in the tube? Do we think it’s necessary for buskers to exist in terms of enriching our lives as the listener…or do we just find them irritating? Consequently, they aren’t just performing for their love of music or the arts – they are out to make money and I was pondering if this detracts from the quality of their art at all. Alternatively, it is a definite positive that people are able to express themselves freely in a public forum and from that perspective I think this group is aiming to make the right sort of impact upon society as it does raise issues of the limits of our liberty…

Laura

Councils, Kids and Critiques of Art

Following on from what was discussed in a previous blog, it seems that, for a great many councils, to have any kind of merit in terms of cultural value, public art has to include member of the public either in it’s execution or its manufacture. I’ve found, from trawling the BBC website on public art, that the ‘buzz’ word for art departments and council representatives everywhere is ‘young people’. As with the Artangel projects, it seems that a ‘children are the future’ mentality is prevailing in some areas of public art. http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/content/articles/2008/09/02/statues_feature.shtml

This has raised questions for a number of people, including whether young people find a sculpture in a city centre representative of their culture or their achievements and if not, whether then they  become the scapegoat for a council spending spree when in actual fact, they have no stake (emotionally or creatively) in a piece of art of this kind. Is it relevant to them? Does it have to be?

There is a discussion on the merit of public art at:-http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/content/articles/2008/04/21/east_public_art_comments_s13_w8_feature.shtml Many of the arugments raised are about how public art is an eyesore and a waste of funding, but mostly the artistic and ‘high’ art value of public art is discussed. This brings us back to the age old question of beauty being in the eye of the beholder and the subjective attraction of art. As public art online ( http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/ )states:-

“Public art is not an art form, it’s simply a way of improving the changing environment through the arts.”

Owen

ARTANGEL

Hey, Artangel is forming my case study for the essay and they’re pretty clever kids. This post is about what they do and how that is placed in the world of public art. Gonna touch on funding and all that jazz too, see what else I’ve found. Sorry if this just reads as reams of links, there’s just so much for your brainbox on the internet.

Most public art is council or initiative funded, one group that is a mecca for public art, making it their mission statement to produce “the best art, in the best possible conditions, Artangel has become part of the cultural debate, both in the UK and abroad.” Find them here: http://www.artangel.org.uk/

Artangel are fore-runners in the public art scene and their mission statement is as follows:-

Beyond the white walls of the gallery, the black box of the theatre or the darkened interior of the cinema, there are other forms of expression where the relationship between artist and place is of primary importance. This is a relationship which Artangel actively explores in events where context and content are often indistinguishable. An artist’s response to the qualities and conditions of a particular place is central to the development of a project. And finding the right place is an integral part of the commissioning process we undertake.

Their previous ventures include 2003′s ‘Ya Get Me’ by artist David Blandy, a ludicrously talented chap. Find him here: http://www.davidblandy.co.uk/ Blandy created a documentary with London’s 13-21 year olds. The purpose of this project was to involve inner city kidsin developing a slang dictionary of hip-hop phrases rhyming slang etc.

Another artist that used his work to form a dialogue with others was experimental music artist Scanner. http://www.scannerdot.com/sca_001.html. Scanner samples many of London’s sounds in his work, from night cleaners to mini-cab drivers, creating music based on these elements. The artist took his work to schools and engaged the students to take sound-bites and recordings from their lives and use themm to create projects of their own.

The purpose of these smaller, community based projects that are funded nationally, is to encourage a communication between artists and the general publi as a form of expression and this anonymous in nature. It engages a wider demographic. What do you guys think?

Owen Johnson

Conversations and provocations: Graffiti

For my presentation in class I was given conversations and interaction in public art. I thought I’d go into more detail and give a few links for people to peruse, especially regarding the value of graffiti.

One of the main functions of public art is provocation. This can be a reaction from people who view it or by triggering an interactive response in the form of new art manifesting itself, it seems the purpose of public art is to create a dialogue between artist and audience. This is an article from the founder last year http://www.thefounder.co.uk/pdfs/The%20Founder%20Volume%202%20Issue%209.pdf. The article itself is on page 19 and is titled ‘the most cutting opinions in Royal Holloway are not in this paper’. The article discusses graffiti on the toilet walls of founders, in which the writer has found:-

” a true, frank and completely open exchange of opinions, jokes, thoughts and observations.”

There is an interesting split in this article in that the writer feels that they have to state that graffiti is not endorsed in the founder and that it is still a punishable offence but highlights that it is a sociological piece examining the merits nature of the expression and discussion involved, stating that the comments left on the wall are ‘charged with passion and rhetoric.’  The article goes on to talk about state and corporate oversight and the toilet cubicle shuning state control over freedom of speech. It’s a good one so check it out.

I also found that Wikipedia (god bless you) has some interesting things to say on public art. “The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that has been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the public domain, usually outside and accessible to all.” In that respect cubicle graffiti is more than relevant to be termed as public art. Public art at it’s best encourages everyone to get involved, it is published in a public setting and isn’t really exclusive unlike other forms of art such as opera or ‘fine’ art galleries which are prohibited to the privileged financially or geographically. Here is the page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_art , i’m gonna research a bit more on this and specific examples and see what I can dig up. Peace and Love

Owen Johnson

Porn or Art?: How low does low-brow go?

I’ve been thinking about high and low culture and this sort of links into what Rob has been saying. I’m gonna look at censorship and literature in my essay and I stumbled across a big essay from Neil Gaiman on his journal discussing the line between erotica and pornography. The blog post is entitled ‘Why defend freedom of icky speech?’ and it can be found here http://journal.neilgaiman.com/. In the article he states:-

The boundary between pornography and erotica is an ambiguous one, and it changes depending on where you’re standing. For some, perhaps, it’s a matter of whatever turns you on (my erotica, your pornography), for some the distinction occurs in class (i.e. erotica is pornography for rich people). Perhaps it’s also something to do with the means of distribution – internet pornography is unquestionably porn, while an Edwardian publication, on creamy paper, bought by connoisseurs, part works bound into expensive volumes, must be erotica.

In this article is also mentioned Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Ullysses, which have all been mentioned in the creative industries seminar. Obviously he is talking specifically about a law case (Handley) about artwork that is believed perverse but this threw up lots of questions for me of censorship in ‘low-brow’ artforms such as the graphic media but also in general for works now regarded as masterpieces. Is it just a question of everyone catching up? or are we constantly breaking the barriers of taste? Gaiman here refers to the law as a ‘blunt weapon’ and says 

 ’People making art find out where the limits of free expression are by going beyond them and getting into trouble.’

Its a really interesting article and something i’m looking into so let me know what you guys think.

Owen Johnson

Adam Neate

I was watching the news this evening and it featured a story about a London-based public artist called Adam Neate, who’s been receiving a lot of media attention with his latest project: Street Art Action. Basically, he’s an artist that gives away paintings for free, simply placing signed artwork that he has done in public places for people to pick up and take home, if they wish. Although he gives them away for free, his paintings usually sell for up to £43,000 per piece when displayed in galleries. I thought it sounded pretty interesting, so I did a little research and found an article on the Telegraph’s website which states that Neate has given away over a million pounds worth of his artwork to the public for free. The website has a brief interview with Neate who says:

“It is about putting back in what I got out at the beginning of my career…It has always been a dream of mine to do a show around the whole of London, to take over the whole city in one go. I want everybody to be able to see it, but once the pieces are out there I don’t mind what happens to them.”

The article ends with a note about funding and the state of art in the face of the global financial crisis. I thought this might be interesting for anyone looking at public art or the funding that is required for public artists for their case studies. If anyone wants to research this a little further, the Telegraph’s article can be found here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3563192/Adam-Neate%27s-Street-Art-Action-art-for-free.html and Neate’s official website (which includes a gallery) can be found here: www.adamneate.co.uk

Max Deacon

architecture

Architecture can be public art too.

For example the Selfridges in Birmingham, described by one Jonathan Glancey as ‘a vast cliff of a building, a computer- age geological outcrop, as distinctive and eye-catching as the white cliffs of Dover.’

Wow

Cherrelle

Question…

I seem to recall meetings having been e-mailed out to us re: our creative industries essay. The e-mail itself has vanished. Could anyone point me in the right direction/confirm that I’m simply losing my mind?

Max Olesker

Goodness knows what the font was doing there….

But never mind! Hopefully it’s still readable! Sarah