They say an effective communication technique is to “tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em, tell ‘em, and then tell ‘em what you told ‘em.” That is what I appreciate about Gabriel and Rimas’s proactive three-pronged approach to marketing Chicken Sh@#: Exploring Urban Ecosystems. Instead of issuing a wan invitation to an opening night event and then waiting around for the crowds to show up like some damsel in distress, Chicken Sh@# hits you over the head and dares you to explore a whole new kind of exhibit format.
It’s been great to watch all the pedestrian double takes out in front of the gallery where I lock and unlock my bike. On any other given month people have a hard time acknowledging that the gallery is even there. Not only do I get to mention the interesting and relevant concepts behind the current show, I’m able to invite them to participate in the exhibit’s next event. This is how you build a buzz machine, beehives not included.
A recent review completely failed to address the participatory elements of this exhibit. Thankfully, Spokane Arts provided people with some heads up on the exciting events that were held in the gallery. Did you know that the now open Main Market Co-op hosted Curt Ellis (co-producer of King Corn) to speak about his new follow-up documentary? This and other attractions helped draw a whole new audience to the gallery: the gardening set, an otherwise mixed bag and beyond. Let’s admit it, the catchy conflation between the gallery co-op model and the novelty of the show in this article subtitle didn’t read well at all.
Is it art? As long as it is relevant, fun to look at and interesting, who gives a crap? The reviewer says “Chickens, food, fertilizer. Recycling. Rethinking. OK, we get it.” But do we? My take home message from this exhibit was that if you truly get it, you’ll be doing it. In San Francisco the city requires compost separation to achieve their goal of zero wast by 2020. In Spokane, we can’t even embrace a framework to help set goals for the future. Hopefully that will have changed with the local elections, but I digress…
Last time we talked about what is next for golden boy Gabe, but what about Mr. Rimas? In the long term we will be loosing him to the lack of fine art grad school programs in the area (Eastern, we’re looking at you!) but in the interim he is on to an interesting, albeit less participatory, group show at SOIL in Seattle.
Through lenses of industrialization, environmentalism, consumerism, and scientific advancement, the artists in Fertilizing Utopias examine the ideals of Western culture with a playful and critical eye. Dark realities are placed in counterpoint to utopian goals as these artists inspect the possible futures our civilization is cultivating.
In the end I hope you’ll be able to come to the gallery for the closing reception of Chicken Sh@#: Exploring Urban Ecosystems! Especially if you haven’t been in yet. Tomorrow between 6-10pm at 25 W. Main.
- RSVP to Chicken Sh@#: The Party! on Facebook
Tags: Breaking Boundaries · Community · Local Art · Local Food · Shock Value · Sustainable Development5 Comments
5 responses so far ↓
Every religious and ideological neoplasm, one it gains enough mass and momentum to become a “collective surge” (also known as a “fad”), metastasizes, dispatching daughter cells into surrounding cultural tissue. The arts, language, and fashion are typically early targets, but eventually it can infect the political structure, the economy, and even the sciences. Christianity spawned Byzantine and Rennaisance art, Marxism spawned Dadaism, Stalinism spawned “Soviet Realism.” It was inevitable that Gaiaism would manifest itself in “earthy” artistic expression.
Fortunately, fads are always temporary. We’ll live through this one, just as we lived through Warhol and psychedelic art. Just be careful where you step while it runs its course.
Well, Contrarian, *some* of us will live to see the success of the environmental movement. Others will take their nay-saying cynicism with them all the way to the grave.
Your comment about San Francisco was particularly interesting to consider, as it is a hub of social practice art. I had the pleasure of meeting Amy Franceschini and Ted Purves last year, both professors in the California College of Art’s Social Practice program. Amy Franceschini is responsible for creating a large scale Victory Garden in front of San Francisco City Hall and is also the founder of http://wwwSFVictoryGardens.org (among other notable projects; Futurefarmers, Freesoil, etc..). Ted Purves, on the other hand, was the organizer of projects such as Temescal Amity Works, Lemon Everlasting Backyard Battery, and The Meadow Network which can be found at his website http://www.fieldfaring.org
It is interesting to consider how artists might contribute to their local social framework (or vice-versa, as Contrarian posits). But it’s important to note that if Gabe and I were trying to make a statement, it is much less about “art” and our place in art history, and much more about this social framework.
Acknowledging the concept of “Social Sculpture” deduced by Joseph Beuys, paired with the countless contemporary artists responding to the present and moving to blur the lines of what is traditionally considered “art,” it is wonderful to see people acknowledge an artist’s intentions and goals rather than maintain the rather elitist attitude regarding “is it art?”
The seriousness that some Spokane-ites I have met have toward this age-old question really surprises me, but considering the minimal access to contemporary art in this city, it makes sense.
Contrarian’s response provides a great example of the link between social movements and their art counterparts throughout history, however I feel I can speak for Gabe and myself that our exhibit pulls little influence from Gaiaism (though this concept is definitely manifested), and our personal practices are responding much more to Industrialization and Capitalism.
However, in an effort to address the “is it art?” conundrum, along with an apparent need to elaborate on the context behind our exhibition, I have handpicked a few links that provide some relevant information and history. I have posted them on my blog: http://blog.rksim.com/?p=479
I hope these links will be instrumental for those who visit them, and it will help move beyond asking “is it art?” and toward asking “what are the artist’s intentions?”
[...] original Inlander Review is posted here, and a response from the Spovangelist is posted here. This entry was written by Rimas, posted on January 28, 2010 at 12:33 pm, filed under [...]
Not directly relevant to the current topic, except insofar as it concerns art (link originally posted by Gary Crooks on an S-R blog):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOhf3OvRXKg