Comments on: Gray Area Gallery… and Gentrification

By: Michael DeLong

Michael DeLong — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:23:00 +0000

Also, while the hearts and cows are decidedly awkward, I have to say that these giant earrings (slides 18 & 19) tickle me. http://www.liesbetbussche.com/acts19.htm Feels like a bit of a parody of said cows and hearts.

By: Chris Delbuck

Chris Delbuck — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:53:00 +0000

Great write up Barry. I think its important to note to Ms. Rhee that full engagement can't just happen overnight. It has to be a process, in which the first step I believe is to create interest in these marginalized communities. If we can drive awareness and interest first, participation and inclusion will naturally follow if there is a conduit for such.

By: Michael DeLong

Michael DeLong — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:05:00 +0000

Anuradha, I think your second point is especially well-made. I highly recommend a book by Miwon Kwon called One Place After Another. In particular, there is a chapter wherein she details the failure of much community art, the way the rhetoric of community is abused in such cases, and specifically the failure of Suzanne Lacy's community art project in Chicago.

By: Anuradha Vikram

Anuradha Vikram — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:32:00 +0000

Barry, well said. My experience working in disadvantaged communities has been that people welcome access to new ideas that are challenging, but engage them in a way that's not condescending. Art is a gentrifier in the positive sense, because it gives communities sites of commonality and because it gives people a reason to take pride in their neighborhood. It's too often the privileged folks who are afraid of their own gentrifying presence who sound these alarms, without really analyzing the genuine impact of the work on the community at hand. That's how we get "community art" i.e. poorly-painted murals and exorbitantly expensive fiberglass cows and hearts all over our city. Finally, considering the oft-stated technology gap between rich and poor in the US, it seems to me that media art which offers a more social and inviting approach to technology can only have a positive effect on people who might otherwise be intimidated by their lack of familiarity. Every person who gets over that anxiety and goes on to become technologically literate, whether through GAF programs or some other way, is experiencing a very real benefit that can have positive effects on his or her economic future.

By: Michael DeLong

Michael DeLong — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:48:00 +0000

Thank you for starting this conversation here, Barry. I am interested to see what others' thoughts are.