Connection Post #3 - Social Practice Art3/18/2019 When reading "How the Art of Social Practice is Changing the World One Row House at a Time" and "Outside the Citadel, Social Practice Art Is Intended to Nurture," I was struck by the sheer magnitude that art has changed in the past 200 years. To think, in the grand scheme of things, the Renaissance was not too long ago and the concept of art has evolved immensely. Social Practice Art is yet another medium that calls into question the definition of art and raises many questions about the practice and nature of its existence. The two articles were quite similar in how they analyzed this new medium and presented the different perspectives surrounding it. I really enjoyed reading both articles because I believe they were executed well and written wonderfully. They both presented both sides of the argument for and against Social Practice art which is a positive attribute when discussing transient subjects like art.
While reading these two articles, I was very curious about many aspects of this practice. Due to the article we read last year about "isms", I wanted to know if social practice art could be considered an art movement? Furthermore, why is social practice art rising in popularity recently? In addition, how do we evaluate social practice art? It is such an amorphous style of art that I want to know what kind of criteria is used to critique it. Lastly, is social practice art actually art? This is a very broad question and centers around the question that is usually the star of all of our socratic seminars. In my opinion, social practice art is NOT an art movement but a medium. The California College of the Arts even offered it as a concentration which is not possible for art movements. However, intrinsic to the argument against social practice art being a movement is the fact that the artists practicing this kind of art are not united by a common idea. They are all impacting and involving the community in different ways and creating art for different reasons which means social practice art is a medium rather than a movement. In regards to my second question about social practice art's rise in popularity, I think that "Outside the Citadel..." really hit the nail on the head when they stated that "many artists, however, say the motivation is much broader: to make a difference in the world that is more than aesthetic" (4). I would argue against the ideas presented in "How the Art of Social Practice..." that presumes that "the popularity of social practice among today's artists reflects a pendulum swing away from the art market. 'It's a reaction against the excesses of individualism,'" (4). I think that the second idea is too limiting and, if it were true, social practice art would be a movement as they are all creating art for a common purpose and to comment on a certain issue. However, social practice artists are not doing such things. They are more closely creating art to make a difference in a community that is more than beautifying the environment. This hypothesis allows for more movement within the definition of social practice art and better encompasses the kinds of artwork being created under the guise of this medium. In regards to evaluating social practice art, I am impartial to the idea that social practice art should accomplish its original purpose. Like most art, if it has a purpose, it should accomplish that purpose in order to be a successful work of art. For example, social practice art is not good if it is incapable of involving the community and/or provides thoughtful commentary on a problem while doing so. A social practice work of art that has no individual interacting with it is not a good work of art. In "How the Art of Social Practice...," the author quotes "'It's really about thinking about process: Who does it connect? And how does it connect them? And what makes this a unique experience for those involved?'" (9) which I believe is also a good way of thinking about this medium. Lastly, at least to me, social practice art is art. Art that has involved the community has existed for decades (the Surrealists, Dadaists, and Fluxus), and the ideas and intentions behind these actions are what make it art. Art is meant to change perspectives, shift ideas, comment on problems, tell a story, and if a work accomplishes one of these by connecting the community and the artist deems it to be art, then it is art. I very much enjoyed both articles. They were both very informative and helpful in wrapping my head around such an amorphous and complicated subject as this newfangled form of art. I loved how they both included different perspectives about this medium and whether it was valid as a form of art or an effective way of enacting social change. They both also addressed the origins of this practice, and its rise in recent years. "Outside the Citadel..." definitely addressed social practice art's role as art more than "How the Art of Social Practice..." which is an incredibly riveting topic especially with all the naysayers and ever present negative views of contemporary art. In my opinion, the two articles could have mentioned more artists in order to encourage further research about this medium. More artist information would also educate the underpinnings of this surge in this type of art. Further, I would have enjoyed more negative opinions about social practice art, so I could feel comfortable in my opinion. I feel like there are definitely more arguments against social practice art that could further educate my views and how I see this type of art. In conclusion, I think that social practice art is incredibly cool and representative of this new age art culture that we live in that consistently stretches the borders of what can be defined as art. I know that the "what is art?" question is quite tired especially as it has been posed since the beginning of art history, but I think this question defines the progression of art over time. Artists are constantly pushing to expand the definition of art, and social practice art is not an exception. The rise in this medium is a step towards the future of art, and I can't wait to see how it progresses.
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