There's a lesson to be learned in this story...
- As part of Orange County Museum of Art's California Biennial (CBO8), temporary public artworks are displayed throughout California. Culver City worked with Curator Laurie Firstenberg and Jedidiah Caesar, one of the artists-in-residence to create a site-specific piece for CBO8 .
- We chose a location off Washington Blvd., adjacent to a vacant lot. The artist spent months working on the piece, looking for found "stuff" in his studio, and encasing it in layers of resin. Then, with a forklift, a couple of rainy Fridays ago, the work was installed. Oh ho...but the story doesn't end here....
- Although official word was sent to the various departments in Culver City City Hall, apparently somebody didn't get the message. Three days after "Gleaners Stone" was installed, a woman called the city up and complained about the pile of construction material left on the sidewalk. In less than 36 hours, the very efficient city maintenance crew hauled the artwork away, and "Gleaners Stone" was deposited (not very carefully) in a public yard.
After the mistake was discovered, "Geaners Stone" was redeposited...a little worse for the wear unfortunately...(see photos below).
Now part of my work assignment is to do a "drive by" and make sure the work is A) Still there; B) Not damaged; and C) Still there.
So far, so good.
To read more about see: http://laist.com/2009/01/30/public_art_mistook_for_construction.php
Artist is not very happy. This was his first sojourn into "public art" and needless to say it wasn't pleasant. At the very least, it makes Culver City look foolish because their misunderstanding resulted in his artwork being damaged.
ReplyDeleteHowever...this is very interesting in the fact that his artwork, taken out of the context of a gallery or museum, can be mistaken for "construction material" or trash.
I don't think the artist Jedidiah Caesar is wanting to discuss the philosophical implications just yet.
He's going to be giving an artist panel discussion (along with Kara Tanaka) at OCMA on Sunday, March 1, to discuss his journey over California. I wonder if this incident will pop up in the conversation? Oooh...
No one's work is ever really appreciated during their lifetime, eh?
ReplyDeleteI hope Caesar decides to not repair the damage. It further records the experience of the piece adding an additional layer. And it leaves us to ponder the unexpected location of the work.
I'm curious about the legal ramifications. Maybe that is a discussion for class time.
Great post.
Nice photos. The missing chunk makes it for me.
ReplyDelete