The purpose of this essay is to ignite a conversation about the artist, and what their role is in a community. If there is a correct answer it is unbenounced to me, and perhaps there really is no one way, but we shall look at multiple steps others have taken and understand the impact those creative people have made.
Whether we, as artists, are meant to implement our works into a community through thoughtful consideration, or to represent art through an artist run space to encourage the growth of art in the public, or if we are just meant to spread creativity so that communities can find strength within, one can not be for certain. But we will consider it all.
Gentrification is the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste. From the definition we can see already that the term improving, used here, is seen through the eyes of those making the renovations. And through this transformation usually a poor neighborhood undergoes changes to create a more middle-class friendly environment, which often too means a white friendly environment. Through this transformation rent and other costs of living raise forcing the poor people out of their homes, making them disconnect with a community that many times they had been apart of for a majority of their life, and creating more homelessness. There are multiple things that can cause gentrification, but what we will be looking at in this essay is how artist impact communities. When an artist takes their practice into public spaces they are attracting attention. If done well, it will be an encouragement and a source of positivity for the community, but if an artist does not communicate with the public than it can encourage people from outside that community to participate and want to insert themselves into that community.
Mel Chin is a socially active, conceptual visual artist who uses environmental, social, cultural, and political information to create art that comments on public needs, and creates steps towards better living. Understanding whether art has made an impact in a society is hard to measure. Mel Chin views his public art to have purpose in the way that some pieces are just made to help bring awareness, some are made not to do anything but tell a story, and others are made not as a solution but as a way to help. Mel Chin uses data he researches about a community to accurately portray and understand that topic, and communities need. Some pieces are applied into a museum setting where there purpose are to bring awareness to an outside public, but when Mel makes a piece for a community setting, he said he always asks the neighborhood first. This is a large necessity due to many artist lack of knowledge of the community they are working in, their work becomes an interruption, and not something that the neighborhood necessarily wants. For Mel Chin, his art may not solve the primary community needs but may make living easier, and encourage change while creating hope.
Something that I think really stuck with me. That really made me appreciate arts influence in public works was "L’Arctique est Paris." What a fantastic film. As Mel stated it needed a little bit of absurdity to draw people's attention, but once you watch through you realize the important point it is trying to make about global warming and changing climates. A striking film that makes all the difference when understanding art and the public.
On the Public Functionary webpage they define themselves by saying “Public Functionary (PF) is an art exhibition and social space in Northeast Minneapolis (opened in 2012). Our approach challenges past paradigms of gallery culture. Public Functionary invites a broader audience reflective of the creative diversity of the Twin Cities to feel welcome, engaged and connected. We work towards a new expression of access and community in a modern context.” While talking with Tricia Heuring, a director and curator at Public Functionary, a conversation occurred where they shared their view of artist’s responsibility. A want for community engagement, and finding ways to make their space more comfortable for all, is their way of creating a growing art community. In Temporary Art Review: Public Functionary we are shown a way of understanding what to expect when first going to Public functionary. I think understanding this space is very important because they are more than just a gallery. The space in itself is a type of “social sculpture,” showing art not to portray, but to evoke. It has to do with more than just portraying reality but evoking a curiosity in the piece and emotion felt through a person's experience with that art. As another way of encouraging community participation Public Functionary shows their exhibitions online and have a very heavy social media presence. They are very focused on getting their art out there and communicating with the people in the best, and most convenient way possible. While talking with Tricia she encouraged artists to learn how to be an art organizer. Even if that is something that does not seem interesting to you at first, she clarified the importance of that role, of being more than just an artist. We have a social role, we expect society to take in our art without helping society move in an art positive direction. That thought gave a whole new importance to these types of alternative spaces. They are for the artist but even more, for the growth and development of people and their interpretation of art.
When wanting to help a community, something that may change who one wants to invite might be the realization that there is a difference between creative people and creativity. Often times artist are invited to a community to create life and a mutual feeling for its inhabitants but many times the artist might not have gotten to know the community and just does what they think is best. A great way to learn from this is to look at the people living in that space and realize that you do not need to be an artist to be creative. Creativity is found in all communities, and the best way to support a community is by highlighting their creativity above your own. This is a concept that will be introduced by Robert Bedoya
Robert Bedoya writes two articles, CREATIVE PLACEMAKING AND THE POLITICS OF BELONGING AND DIS-BELONGING, and Spatial Justice: Rasquachification, Race and the City. In these articles Bedoya expresses ways to help a community without placing yourself above them. Bedoya mentions how a community does not need new things implementing it, but instead needs to be reminded that what it has already is worth preserving through creative placemaking placekeeping. Highlighting positives that a community shares, using placemaking as a way to highlight the physical and social characteristics of a place, while bringing the community together. Bedoya also mentions Rasquachification which is “to suggest placekeeping as a strategy of advancing racial justice goals,” or to use placekeeping as a way to create a sense of belonging for everyone in the community and enact the works of placemaking. This process will counter the process of gentrification and instill a community to progress together. Bedoya articulates how we as people can work with communities, and help prevent the harmful aspects of gentrification.
An artist in many ways is meant to disrupt. Show more than “what is,” to leave room for people to feel, and want to ask questions. This crosses over in community based artist works as they try to bring to the public's attention important subjects that many standard ways of display cannot. This is a fact proven time, and time, again as we continue learning of an artist's responsibilities in communities. While learning of public art works I have gone from thinking that we, as artists, should not have a role due to our connections with gentrification, to thinking we can only impact a community through artist run exhibitions if we are to place an impact at all, because then at least we are trying to help a community develop their creativity. Now I believe that it isn’t an artist's role to do anything beside spread creativity. It is a person's role to impact community and an artist does this through creativity. I don’t know if there is a right or wrong though. Mel Chin is able to help a community through his community based works, and Public Functionary is able to place work in a community through their artist run space. But I think Robert Bedoya considered an artist's place in another's community best through his encouragement of a whole instead of an individual.
Bibliography:
•https://manpodcast.com/portfolio/no-173-mel-chin/
•https://art21.org/artist/mel-chin/
•http://temporaryartreview.com/public-functionary-a-prologue/
•http://creativetimereports.org/2014/09/15/spatial-justice-rasquachification-race-and-the-city/