Reflections on Week 1 Readings

A good starting point for this week's reflection is Tom Finklepearl's "Definition of Terms" from his book, What We Made.  While I was initially expecting a short glossary, I was instead greeted by several pages of discussion on the nature and range of socially engaged art.   I think this was an excellent choice, because art movements such as Dadaism, Cubism, and Abstract Expressionism can be compactly defined, socially engaged art (or social practice, collaborative art, etc) is a far broader and more fluid area of art in the contemporary art world.

Still, lines can be drawn to at least offer the suggestions of limits, or to group like ideas.  In this case I think the delineation between scripted art (like Marina Abramovic's The Artist is Present) and more collaborative projects like Building 75 at Creedmore, mentioned in the book.  I think that it would also help to point out that "scripted" art can be just as powerful as pieces where the audience generates the work (witness the Facebook group "Marina Abramovic Made Me Cry" that was created as a result of The Artist is Present).

Naturally, many activities in the 21st century are either scripted, audience-participation events, or created with input from the community.  For example, the hit TV show American Idol and anything using the buzz-word "crowd-sourcing".    Because of this, I feel it is critical to take a long look at any project or piece before labeling it "socially engaged art".  I do not feel that the Women on Waves movement is any more socially engaged art than Pirate Bay (which uses international waters to circumvent copyright laws instead of abortion laws) or American Idol. 

While Women on Waves generates more spectacle than Pirate Bay, I feel that the danger exists of labeling any societal event or spectacle art.  After all, any citizen protest anywhere could be considered "a participatory contemporary art piece organized by community leaders with local contributors to highlight the injustices inherent in society".  This could describe everything from the Watts riots to the Arab Spring to the Million Mom March.  The 21st century is rapidly shaping up to be one of decreasing heirarchical organizational structures and more spontaneous and citizen-involved thanks to our unprecedented access to instant information almost anywhere.  Care should be taken to separate art from social movements when talking about socially engaged art, or risk diminishing the value of the socially engaged art being created around us.