"In the end, I am a supporter of the 'creative conversation,' "is how I concluded my commentary on controversial art and censorship in our society. Today let’s take that a step further, and let's make art that is less about evoking reaction and more about inciting interaction--let’s explore ‘social practice art’. Social practice is "art that's socially engaged, where the social interaction is at some level the art," according to Tom Finkelpearl, author of What We Made: Conversations on Art and Social Cooperation. For me this is a beautiful a concept that I was unaware of until we read about a variety of social practice art undertakings. These encompassed a large scope spanning from the initiation of community restoration projects to the collective construction of temporary monuments--all movements seeking to bring people together, build stronger communities, encourage creativity, and/or make social change. Social practice has been around for decades, but it is just beginning to find its place and make its mark in the art world as an art form. What fascinates me most about this type of art is that it challenges us to think about art in a different way—placing the focus on the process more so than the product. More than that, I find it encourages us to observe, analyze, and go about our own actions and life experiences in artful ways.
With social practice work I find that there is this revolutionary idea that the "creative conversation"--or simply the human encounter--that results as a consequence of creativity is, in fact, the art. For this reason, social practice may bend many a mind's common take on what art is. It somehow simplifies and complicates that ever-looming and always unanswerable question. In doing so, social practice brings to the surface this thought that many of the intangible intellectual or emotional by-products of human interaction can be held up to the same level as the tangible visual/literary arts.
When we critique the visual arts we often find ourselves breaking works down into the elements and principles of art. We talk about how these elements such as line, value, color and space arrange to form the principles like rhythm, form, and balance. Moreover, we attempt to verbalize the success of a piece based upon how effective the use of materials is when it comes to the deliverance of message via visual means. We are thoughtful of both superficial appeal and provocative power. In this way, there exists an aesthetic for different art and different artists. If social practice is now considered an art, then is it not feasible for there to exist a general aesthetic that would allow one to articulate the effectiveness of the project based upon many of those same elements and principles of design? I believe so. I believe that ultimately, when it comes to art, 'success' equals communication. And communication is the primary goal of social practice art.
In learning about this bolstering ‘social practice’ movement, I've ultimately come to see that simple human encounters can be beautiful in ways similar to art. For instance, often times when we first meet people we make speculations or even assumptions about them based upon aspects such as their jobs, styles and interests. For me, this is the more superficial aspect of the critique--the surface has the ability to capture or lose one's attention, draw someone towards a piece (or a person) or push them away. Now this is but the initiation of a creative encounter. A creative activity such as painting, drawing, reciting poetry, or playing music often serves as the connector. Coming together to make something of significance whether it is art or music--whether it is a home in neighborhood, a roof above a head, a meal on a table--It is in these little moments when we reach a hand out to another and make something from which stories are written and told, messages sent and received:
Our common content communicated results in our connection with and authentication of one another.
At least, that's how I see it.
With social practice work I find that there is this revolutionary idea that the "creative conversation"--or simply the human encounter--that results as a consequence of creativity is, in fact, the art. For this reason, social practice may bend many a mind's common take on what art is. It somehow simplifies and complicates that ever-looming and always unanswerable question. In doing so, social practice brings to the surface this thought that many of the intangible intellectual or emotional by-products of human interaction can be held up to the same level as the tangible visual/literary arts.
When we critique the visual arts we often find ourselves breaking works down into the elements and principles of art. We talk about how these elements such as line, value, color and space arrange to form the principles like rhythm, form, and balance. Moreover, we attempt to verbalize the success of a piece based upon how effective the use of materials is when it comes to the deliverance of message via visual means. We are thoughtful of both superficial appeal and provocative power. In this way, there exists an aesthetic for different art and different artists. If social practice is now considered an art, then is it not feasible for there to exist a general aesthetic that would allow one to articulate the effectiveness of the project based upon many of those same elements and principles of design? I believe so. I believe that ultimately, when it comes to art, 'success' equals communication. And communication is the primary goal of social practice art.
In learning about this bolstering ‘social practice’ movement, I've ultimately come to see that simple human encounters can be beautiful in ways similar to art. For instance, often times when we first meet people we make speculations or even assumptions about them based upon aspects such as their jobs, styles and interests. For me, this is the more superficial aspect of the critique--the surface has the ability to capture or lose one's attention, draw someone towards a piece (or a person) or push them away. Now this is but the initiation of a creative encounter. A creative activity such as painting, drawing, reciting poetry, or playing music often serves as the connector. Coming together to make something of significance whether it is art or music--whether it is a home in neighborhood, a roof above a head, a meal on a table--It is in these little moments when we reach a hand out to another and make something from which stories are written and told, messages sent and received:
Our common content communicated results in our connection with and authentication of one another.
At least, that's how I see it.
