curatingpublicspace

[curatingpublicspace]

Do we actually express, for the sake of being free, or do we make art for the mere cause of surviving? Global life is in every moment a balance on a tightrope, as politics imply tensions in dialectics of power. When we, by our hands, inevitably by the hands of others reach out to be heard. Artistic expression does not necessarily need to critique or change to be political, it can be as ephemeral as a soap bubble to the status quo, and thus be political. In contemporary art both practices are very common, one not more political than the other. Both intersect each other as members of the same field of communication, mainly the market. The gallery market, the private or publicly founded public art market or the social media look at my art market. And just as in the commodity market, that which is not sold is most certainly silenced within time and does not affect the past or the future. So is it ethical to sell political art, and thus making its politics into a profit commodity? Well it seems like there are a few other commodities that do just that. Books expressing ideas are sold and politicians are bought. Apparently all forms politics have become commodities, no matter the price. What I seem to wonder about though, is that actions become reactionary as they mirror what they intended to change. Sold, as history repeats itself. In the course this project we would like to research forms of artistic expression that do not intend to change the exiting political reality; A weak liberal democracy, debating the left over crumbs in an economic dictatorship, as 1% got 82% of all the generated wealth last year, according to the BBC. But art that intends to create new forms of coexisting communication. So it does not loose its power to the ephemeral condition imposed by consumption. Art that does not generate profit, fame or hierarchy but hopefully fulfils the memorial promise that art carries, of one becoming human and for a moment being free.

[curatingpublicspace]

part 7 the end...

#Skärmavbild 2017-04-22 kl. 22.29.17

#quote, is the way we acnkowledge  the “other”, by an interaction in public debate. There are not many other ways to do so. #quote is thus to acknowledge “otherness” as a source of ones own creativity, partly constituting the self, may it be from inspiration or critique, both creative practices that from of publicness.

[curatingpublicspace]

part 6

#readityourself  

Large Footnote; transcript from his web page, part of the essay that von Olafur Eliasson published in the book: The Movement Meter for Lernacken, Malmö. Edited by Pat Kalt / Studio Olafur Eliasson, Berlin 2002, (pp. 32-37, 36-37)

                                                        *******

 “In my work on Lernacken, I have taken two basic ideas as my starting point: the countryside that one drives though in a car and a landscape area where one moves around, probably on foot.

This implies two fundamental conditions for movements in the area and hence also for the visual experience of the travellers.

The motorist moves through Lernacken at high speed and with a gliding movement determined by the vehicle. This is a case of a pre-determined system of roads where only large-scale phenomenon or those that may be read quickly make themselves felt.

The pedestrian, on the other hand, may choose freely between a greater number of options within a larger pedestrian system, just as the speed is both much slower and more varied.

The movements, the visual angles and the perspectives will thus differ fundamentally. Between the pedestrian and the motorist, and I have therefore chosen to work on a project relating to, and drawing on, both forms of experience: the rapid, gliding and directed drive through the bridge area and the slow, abrupt and much more individual moving through the park estate.

If one could highlight the visitor’s experience of his or her own presence in the country-side space, be that as a motorist or as a pedestrian, then the various movements would gain an extra quality, and full experience of the area might occur.

 I have chosen to make use of various light sources, the effect of which depend on the viewer’s movements, position, direction of looking, and not least the rhythm of day and night and seasons.

At a specific position in the Lernacken area, a device is place which one might call a movement meter. Movement Meter is a pavilion constructed out of six metal grid sheets with built in sections of coloured glass and metal mirrors, respectively, at various angles. To the pedestrian in the landscape, the pavilion will function as a light source appearing as a particular and transient phenomenon, depending on where the viewer is located and moving around in the landscape. The light source is generated by sunrays which, by way of the mirrors are reflected and which, through the glass sections, are emitted as colour beams in the hilly terrain. Only from clearly defined positions may the light be perceived by the passers-by; and, in relation to the surrounding landscape, I must take into account the many different transports of vision which Movement Meter Works with and challenges.

 The countryside area around Lernacken is Primarily visited by pedestrians during the day for which reason I have specifically worked with sunlight for the Movement Meter.

In the evening, the par is shrouded in darkness in darkness, and the visitors to the area now mostly motorists from the Oresund’s Bridged. Close to the pavilion, facing the bridge and the water, I have hence chosen to situate a tower which in principle echoes the pavilion but the pavilion, but which in this case, by way of electric light, addresses the bridge motorists. Here, it will work as a vantage point within the quickly passing and shimmering surrounding, visible from the bridge.

The area surrounding Lernacken turns out to be a very ambiguous space where a whole range of qualities and significations are interwoven. And where the conditions for individual experiences depend on the many shifting ways of positioning, the individuals: in relation to distance, angle and movement, and not least in relation to reflections and mirroring’s.

Movements are registered through seeing, and the view is registered though movements. Hereby the visitor’s experience of his or her own presence in the landscape space is enhanced.

Olafur Eliasson, spring 1999.”

...for access to archive from commissioner board meetings, contact: [email protected]

[curatingpublicspace]

#Interlude

 #Lostinspace, #Loading the #desire of space, is the creation of space; the “object space” (room/landscape) by “subject space”, we/us/me in space, in relation everchangeing dialectical performance, as in dans or a force of nature. In the exhibition “Lost in Space” by SusanPhilipsz, we find us walking lost through the room feeling that space, is there for us. We are not lost in space, but found. The artist uses the mechanics of creation “sound” to constitute space, making us subjects (first there was sound as they say). Moving in a different pace, different flow, in the vast empty exhibition place. Carefully we move, like we don’t want to collide with its fullness. Art is thus everywhere, all embracing, all constituting in the relation to this space, all space. We “are” in the space “where” we are, never in silence. A violinist is playing the note “c”, only the “c” note from a full composition (a note that is considered to be one of the most desirable to us humans. Space is for desire, the pleasure of deconstruction gives us space, the empty notes in-between, silence, empty is suddenly filled by us. The sound of a pulsing star, far from our planet, is showing its presences  with sound, as the TV screen is showing “nothing”- ant-wars, or “fullness”, the same energy that we can senses if we close our eyes but look into the darkness of our inner space. In darkness there is presence, even more presence than in light. Moving trough a dark exhibition  room. Dark space devours our presence and suddenly our body too, our object is no longer. We are only subjects, only present in space, first lost but shortly found, reinforced, stronger and for a moment free in space. A beam of light penetrates this darkness, much like a star would penetrate a cold blue night. Listen, David Bowie’s songs are sung by the artist with headphones on, we have all done it on the subway, music we cannot hear, words sung in emptiness like they where coming from the light. Rematerializing human presence in this room. In this light the subject reunifies with its object again. Like matter is created in the boiling core of a star, we become our space again, sound again. To the lyrics of a soul that we lost, departed into space (R.I.P. David). Audience recreated, “henself” (gender unknown) is reunifying in the light, moving in sound. Sound is movement of matter as even the most silent of movements do, and thus generates a dans, as audience takes liberty to be found, dans free, lost, in space. 

[curatingpublicspace]

part 5

#Communication and #publicness is a never-ending process, well as long as there are subjects dwelling not so freely in this space which we share, in the public. Our “nessness” (creation of the shared self, through communication) in the public is the “ourness”. (Two new hermeneutical concepts created just because we can. Although language is controlled, it is ultimately the only free form of expression. it can be written in the sand and no commodities are needed for its realisation. If read before the waves pull it in to the ocean and understanding is reached, it develops freely, conditioned only by “ourness”, our “sharedness” or so institutionally put “publicness”). This the battleground for creation, where subjects are forged in the name of values expressed by public funding, the politics of the self in the realm of art. Lets be frank, knowledge, that mysterious shaper of subjects is not without directed agency, it is not incorporating all and ever present shared values. No, it’s the opposite of that, a constant moving of subjectivities in different directions, driven by different contesting values, steered by underlying agendas. Lets change the subject and in our minds for a moment, travel far away or just around the corner if your are so lucky. We are siting with our hands buried in the sand looking at the star, that warms us in the day and in the night, as it slowly greets us with its beauty for a last time this day. This moment we share with the one subject of our choice, whom we preferably are all alone in the universe with for that moment. (Well there is always a lonely sorry ass bastard that would say. - I don’t like to be on a dreamy beach, and I don’t find sunsets or sharing a moment of peace with someone I cherish more than myself, at least in some moments in life, desirable. These persons are estimably 1% of the population, and thus have no democratic power in this discussion, so lets leave them out). Why this trip, you might ask. We now carry memories of shared values that most would understand as good and desirable. And isn’t that knowledge, does that creates “publicness”? 

Lets leave the romance and return to our discussion, about  “public space” (abstract in general), ”public place” (concrete and mapped), battled in the realm of communication. Well its is because it is not a topic of publicness, as there is no battle, its already won, 99% of us have decided for the same value. Many of Olafur Eliasson art projects would possibly move in the realm of this non-publicness. I.e. his artistic expressions are already valued as core common understandings in our “nessness” or “ourness”, even if his sunsets are artificial, sunsets still (more people have made decent against this creation, than against the real experienced phenomenon). But there are so many other and more complex desires in our reality, creating the human condition. So we can sediment that desire, is a core condition for understanding communication and its further creation of “publicness”. We desire and we are driven by ever contested opposing values. These are most often hidden (primarily in the creation of an artistic space, as the semiotics of expressed creativity are driven by elitist hermeneutics, even though its epistemological origins is banal and common. Sorry we correct ourselves, the true elite that govern this planet do not understand these semiotics more than the working class, so the issue of distinction is hermeneutical or one of cultural and social capital and to some extent symbolic capital) only decoded in active communication. Thus Habermas has uncovered a crucial character in the creation of public space, that it is an active process of decoding and recoding. The published needs to create movement, we could call an object that measures this creation of the public, a movement meter. Thus we can clearly see that the other movement meter that one by Olafur Eliassson is far from the simple romanticisms of nature or science, but expresses underlying meanings that are not shared. But hidden and only brought to light if one decodes the ether of that particular “public place” of expression, redefining “publicness”. Shared, the decodification of the public is created by communication and language, it has an epistemological and hermeneutical “immaterial body” (discourse) and a “material body”, space/place (object/commodity), it is “publishedness”, it is the “public space”, it is “ourness” and the “nessness”, (when reading this text humour is an essential hermeneutical tool for decoding). 

#letsnotcommunicate #sunset #inthelandoftheblindtheoneeyedisking 

 #futurepublications #enlightenment #philosophyofthepublic

[curatingpublicspace]

part 4

   #aesthetics #movement are the next subjects in our dialog with the art works at Lernacken. In order to do this we need to se what the artist has in mind with movement and what kind of aesthetic contribution this structures have for the movement of history, more specific art history.

“This implies two fundamental conditions for movements in the area and hence also for the visual experience of the travellers. The motorist moves through Lernacken at high speed and with a gliding movement determined by the vehicle. /…/ The pedestrian, on the other hand, may choose freely between a greater number of options within a larger pedestrian system, just as the speed is both much slower and more varied. The movements, the visual angles and the perspectives will thus differ fundamentally. /…/ I have chosen to make use of various light sources, the effect of which depend on the viewer’s movements, position, direction of looking, and not least the rhythm of day and night and seasons /…/“Only from clearly defined positions may the light be perceived by the passers-by; and, in relation to the surrounding landscape, I must take into account the many different transports of vision which Movement Meter Works with and challenges. /…/ Movements are registered through seeing, and the view is registered though movements. Hereby the visitor’s experience of his or her own presence in the landscape space is enhanced.”

Olafur Eliasson, spring 1999. Edited by Pat Kalt / Studio Olafur Eliasson, Berlin 2002, pp. 32-37, 36-37

…the artworks at Lernacken, as they so romantically are presented to us, are in a place of movement no doubt, of people, ocean and nature, by the seasons and by the artworks. We understand that as audience can be mesmerised by the magic created by the moving sunlight (lightspeed) hitting the artworks, and creating an image of colour, observed only by moving and finding a clearly defined position (not moving). But what is this countryside place exactly, if one thinks of movement. It is a border, and not far from the installation you can find your movement stopped by not so polite to very polite border patrols. Depending on where you are coming from. If you are part of movement. Traveller from a far away land, bomb to shrivels by western armies, then your movement stops here, so close to the Movement Meter. If you on the other hand just been on the other side to get shitfaced and fill up the car with booze, or just strolled around in the foreign land in leisure or work. Then your movement is welcomed and appreciated, even though you probably to tired to notice the Movement Meter its there. If we do some numbers, to decide if this is a place of movement we come to the conclusion that about 10% of the population of the world has free movement, to see the movement meter by Olafur Eliasson, so we could imply that place is of limited movement.

 #aesthetics the installations at Lernacken are aesthetically shapes are determined by two geometrical forms. The pavilion for the pedestrians is shaped after a hexagon and the phallic spiral structure is shaped to a octagon. Both this geometrical shapes are in abundance in ancient cultures, religions and contemporary “kitsch” esoteric art. The hexagon create a very stable structure, that is most famous as the star of David. A symbol of a people in constant movement through history. Today it sadly is used in many occasions as a symbol of the opposite. The octagon or the star of Ishtar used in many nation flags, pagan cultures although it is found in all cultures, most commonly known as the compass star. Also a symbol of movement, guiding us through a journey, maybe this was the reason for the artist to choose this shape for the artwork, that is intended for the not so knowing motorist passing by. A blessing on their trip by a phallic beacon of light, something we are pretty used to by now. Aesthetically, I do find the meaning of movement in these symbols and geometric shapes, although I do not see the movement though time, as reusing millennial aesthetics could be considered a rather conservative and static choice to make, for a artwork about movement.    

 Creating a universe of movement is a difficult task to take on, for sure it is made by loss of control. Loss of acquisition of valuable papers. As letting go of static structures and implementing constant movement, that is somewhat unplanned, implies. A project that could represent the total opposite of Olafur Eliasson permanent (not movement), could be The Blue House by Jeanne van Heeswjiik. Creating a new neighbourhood by creating land in the ocean. Is moving civilisation to places where man/woman never stood tall. In this movement The Blue House was created as just that. A community art space that involves the audience as co-producers of an artistic reality, transforming reality, by movement, as movement is change. As the project is intending to create something new and unexpected. Maximum movement is the balance of different wills, although its geometrical structures is that of Olafur Eliasson and ancient cultures so kindly present to us. Or as the hurricane (stronger than atom bombs) so often reminds us of, that balanced movement is the strongest force…

 #bordersaremovmentfortheprivilidged #nomovment

[curatingpublicspace]

part 3

 #literature #space is filled with meaning, something that we can only grab by describing it, writing it down. This is apparent to all, that writings in whatever shape you would like to acquires it, are in abundance. So we dive into this ocean of texts. When sailing unchartered seas, knowledge is crucial. It is always good with guidance, and wise men are also found everywhere. Don’t forget that there are equal amounts of wise women out there, only that they are little more hard to find, in #space. As they don’t hold equal amount of position of power, in the society/space where men and women dwell.

The wise are thus to guide us, if one chooses to follow. endless amounts of voices from which to choose guidance from, is what we have in the horizons. One of many wise old men that has been presented to us as a starting point to understand the public, is the German Bastard (British joke, funny for all, except Germans and generally sensitive people) Jürgen Habermas. We would need to find his female counterpart, which I’m sure we will. From the fields of epistemology and communications, in the public space, we will start to understand the space in which Lernacken “the movement meter” is set. Other protagonists in this critical dialog about this particular field. That of philosophical implications, but not taking central roles are Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, bell hooks, Chandra Mohanti.

Voices of curators and artists will be lifted up as crucial and contextual opinions in this debate about public space, as it is their battleground and playing field. A practice far from the comfortable zone of philosophers, concerning a more specific knowledge about the realm of art, as the mentioned above speak in more general terms about society. this dual level of discussion will create a general and more focused gaze upon some of the central issue concerning Eliassons work in Malmös public space, as an artwork. A list of authors, much longer than the previous one is needed and will therefore be presented in a more complete fashion.

#futurepublications #publicspace #menwomen #value

[curatingpublicspace]

part 2

Crudely contextualised Neo liberal art would be a set of values that uphold the ruling ideas that the public sphere as a place for individualities. The avant-garde within art would also imply that the inherent meaning of a given artwork would also contribute at least to not open up a discussion of the public as a place for debated. The spirals as many other of Olafur Eliasssons works are representations of nature, artificial nature as he calls it. Does the artificial forest problematize the real forest, by making it public space? The geometry used to depict “a galaxy or a hurricane” are very common symbols in the ancient civilisations artwork and still a vibrant part of aboriginal and non-western cultural expressions, even in some western more obscure cultures they apear in practice. Why this is an important factor for the discussion of public space is the presence of body within that space. The anthropologist Norbert Elias in his book the civilizing process sees the everyday life as a practice of cultural expressions of a civilizing process. I.e the western man that is the dominant active agent with the public space in patriarchal societies, does not embody culture but civilization. The “other” and the “other gender” are objects of desire for they are bearers of culture. Ironically contemporary not kitsch art is not a practice of culture as it is so often depicted, but a practice of civilisation. Thus depicting nature/the artificial takes on different meaning as soon as the producers, the publishers body enters the public space. Class, predominantly the intellectual and well educated sellers of civilizing labour class is in the same way distinction from the working class, being the reproduces of society, the uncivil culture. This is the problematic of the origins of publishing, why indigenous people activating more people as street musicians than the Movement Meter at Lernacken, as receiving some coins for their artistic expression is agency in a Habermasian discourse. Although the meaning of the geometries take on other conclusions, kitsch or cultural. The civilisation process just as gentrification is the appropriation of culture space or for re-commodification by subject with inherent civilization processes as their everyday life. Is the artificial, in a neo liberal society, the invaluable commodity art, a beacon of civilization project? one could see these connotation within an almost religious form of art even though it is artificial religious symbols, as the geometry seems to be aesthetics rather than physics. theses somewhat loose reflections will be reshapes, re formed and re-commodified in a later stage of the case study.

 #futurepublication #value

[curatingpublicspace]

http://olafureliasson.net/archive/artwork/WEK101290/the-movement-meter-for-lernacken

part 1

Our case study The Movement Meter in Lernacken outside Malmö is going to try to discuss the contemporary public space. A method of mapping will hopefully create questions, so we start we a loose discussion or reaction to what is written about these works by the artist and what questions a superficial observation can bring.

 On the Swedish coast near Malmö, The movement meter for Lernacken greets drivers heading north across the Øresund Bridge from Denmark. The artwork consists of a cylindrical tower over twelve and a half metres in height and a smaller pavilion several hundred metres away. 
The tower is formed from two sets of curving steel tubes, one thicker than the other, which form a latticework. At night, a spotlight shines through bands of colored glass mounted at the top. As cars approach, their perspective on the tower changes; the light appears to move through the different bands of glass, producing a spectral light show for each driver or passenger.
Accessible only on foot or by bicycle, the lower-lying pavilion invites visitors to experience it at a slower pace. Six free-standing steel latticework walls curve outwards from an empty centre like the arms of a hurricane or spiral galaxy. Mirrors and panes of colored glass inset into the steel walls catch the rays of sun and cast variegated patches of light and shadow onto the surroundings. 
The movement meter for Lernacken is the first of Eliasson’s works to combine color, reflection, artificial and natural light, geometry, movement, and landscape in one artwork.

These are the word of the official homepage of Olafur Eliasson, words explaining and arguing for the sculptural site specific artworks. The sculptural object were commission by Swedish tax money in relation to the 1% policy of the building of the Öresund bridge. A infrastructural build that was high criticized by the people living in the region, for over spending and environmental potential harms. As most public opinions time seems to quite opposing voices and silence remains the winner. Maybe is silence a policy around these artworks, as I have asked over 40 people about their knowledge about these public artworks. Many of these person are active artist and live by the work of their creativity. No one knew about these monumental structures. Invisible in space they seem to be.

 So before we continue to understand the importance of this site specific artwork we have to understand or choose to position this case study, take a clear positions on what public space. In this case also being public spending.

 Mapping space is a method of analysing or highlighting some central aspect for this case study. Space, the ether that surrounds us, subjects, objects and immaterial whispers only present because of their acknowledged existence, discourse. Habermas sees public space as a sphere where individuals become or better take part of the public in relation to the publication of meaning. Thus one could say that the public, is an ideal place of agency, ever changing debate of its existence by practice. As soon as there is dialog, published meaning and published reaction, immaterial, subjective or objective the public sphere appears as a new ether to the observer. One could relate this to the Hegelian dialectics of Thesis - Antithesis – Synthesis. A dialectical approach to the creation of meaning is not always democratic, but it opens up the possibility for such appearances within public space. Why this is important is because the public space is contested as an ideally democratic space, especially in relation to public spending. More radical theorist would contest that the public space is not democratic at all as it just reproduces the democratic deficits that we so clearly see in society or public space. i.e. mapping representations of of artistic presence/publishers within this public space normally falls on undemocratic demographics. Over-representation of the middleclass, middle-aged men is the thesis- the “others” are the antithesis, and as the power relation are not equally balanced the synthesis remains status quo, unchanged but democratised by the precedes of reaction. Reaction is “un-heard” if it’s the dominant discourse overpowers its respond. if heard, the ruling ideology adapts the symbolic language to its own philosophical content and recreates status quo, unchanged, as change is massive, not singular. And its back to business as usual. This formalism of structure will be a starting point to read the particular space that this artwork creates. By implementing strategy as such the dichotomies arise as interesting dialogical developments that might not even be present in the public space, that is under scrutiny in this case study.  

 Olafur Eliasson is undoubtedly one of the most important and highly commission artist in the contemporary global public space. No doubt a talented and professional artist, sadly a clear image copy of that subject with power that is so criticized, for its dominance, within the democratic opposition to status quo, dreaming of a more diverse public space for producers of art. One argument of choices to commission him this site would be his global fame. But apparently by my inquiries to individuals within and outside art, it was clearly that his fame couldn’t bring an audience from the city to this remote place, that can only be reached by bike or by foot. Luckily we see in the description text that the more visible artwork is for the car drivers. Coming from Copenhagen, how these people would interact or participate is by there share movement, “As cars approach, their perspective on the tower changes; the light appears to move through the different bands of glass, producing a spectral light show for each driver or passenger.” A valid argument that would imply that we would be in dialog and active in public space with everything around us just as long as our gaze is fixed during movement not by actively responding. This criteria is a problematic position in augmenting for a commissioning of this budget if you don’t have a position of great privileged at your hand. And in using a analytical scrutiny of publishing the issue stand clear that Lernacken is a problematic public space of art. I have visited the site and as the text clearly states there are some bicycle and at least 5-6 dog walkers at the two visits that I did. In observing if there was any greater reaction from the dog walkers it didn’t seems to engage in greater moments of artistic illumination by these esoterical structures or any other form of dialog. Another observation is that most of the people that observed in and around the area where using headphones and I imagine that most car driver would listen to some sort of radio or motor engine sound. Aspect of environment that clearly would change the perspective of the audience and certainly give it a unique experience to every single individual. As Olafur Eliasson clearly states in the Louisiana exhibition “Riverside insde the Museum”. “The audience determine the meaning of the exhibition and this meaning is individual and cultural. Just by walking thought the exhibition interaction and meaning is created.” An argument that every individual has exclusive and individual needs and thus a collective consciousness or solidarity be unrealistic and inexistent in any given moment unless it has cultural denotations. Putting them under the category lifted by Dave Beech as “passer by” and not an audience of any particular sort. Even dough their movement makes the artwork change, as any object would be different in every point of different distance or angle, throughout our entire lives. We see that the issue of audience in this case is very problematic and difficult to determine.

[curatingpublicspace]

curtaingpublicspace is the appearance of presence in public space, open, for all eyes to feel, sometimes even to the touch of a few curious. Where art has voice, is a places where a questions will be asked, do not doubt... As the wind whispered in the old bearded mans ear; true privilege of a few to be part of creating public presence, whatever the task, grand or humble.

This is how curatingpublicspace begins. We start by using the privilege to imagining space …where? a big bunch of books, views, opinions and dreams, we hope, about art in public space. Material for our and others imagination. Questions, hopefully answers will be delt by, with as short reflexions, more substantial texts on rainy days.

Next dialog: #space