Artist Organized Art

Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2003 02:29:17 +0200
Subject: EN ROUTE
From: "Paco Simon"
To: "Paco Simon"

Esto es una invitaci�n para la inauguraci�n del proyecto EN ROUTE.
Organizado por Arte en �rbita y dirigido por Paco Sim�n y Ginevra Godin.

Se celebrar� el s�bado dia 27 a las 12.00 horas en la carretera que une
Muel con Fuendetodos (Km 1,5 saliendo de Muel) en donde iniciaremos un
recorrido por todas las instalaciones para terminar en Fuendetodos donde se
servir� un vino espa�ol.

Como amantes de la cultura que sois, o como turistas del reci�n estrenado
oto�o; os esperamos.

QUE ES EN ROUTE

EN ROUTE es una serie de exposiciones que presenta ins�litas obras de arte
que pueden ser observadas desde el coche por sus viajeros en carreteras
Europeas.

Es un proyecto de intercambio entre organizaciones Europeas de Arte que
representan arte conceptual en lugares y situaciones especificas
La asociaci�n "Kunstpflug e.V." de Baitz en Brandenburgo, Alemania en
colaboracion con "Arte en �rbita" en Zaragoza, Espa�a y "Galer�a Wschodnia/
Artists' Museum, Lodz, en Polonia realizan el proyecto EN ROUTE en estos
tres paises. Cada organizacion propone cinco artistas que construiran sus
obras en cada uno de los tres eventos consecutivos durante el ano 2003. En
septiembre la primera parte en la carretera que une Muel con Fuendetodos en
la provincia de Zaragoza. Despues en octubre en Baitz,cerca de Berlin en
Alemania y para teminar en noviembre en Lodz, Polonia.

Los artistas instalaran sus obras en el paisaje, cerca de la carretera a la
vista de los pasajeros que viajan de un lado a otro en sus coches y
camiones. La recepci�n de las obras es fugaz ya que se realiza en
movimiento, pasando. Esta percepci�n nos da otro enfoque de la perspectiva
habitual, el momento creativo reluciendo de una manera refrescante y
regeneradora fuera de la rutina diaria.

Punto de partida para la confrontaci�n art�stica es el an�lisis de la
situaci�n "carretera". La secuencia de elementos concretos que constituyen
el paisaje y sus diferentes perspectivas. El efecto de sorpresa, la mirada
r�pida, la corta construcci�n de una ilusi�n y su efecto posterior en
nuestra imaginaci�n tambi�n son temas en la publicidad. �Como influyen los
h�bitos de mirar de los viajeros el entorno inmediato de una obra de arte y
su efecto? �Va a ser percibido como obra de arte? �Cuanta informaci�n
nacional se necesita? �Hay una "normativa Europea para mirar" y como se
refiere al lenguaje por signos del pa�s? �Como reaccionan artistas de paises
distintos a estos temas? �Como reacciona el publico?. Estas son las
preguntas que plantea el proyecto EN ROUTE.

El tratamiento consciente del concepto "Drive Through" como forma de
exposici�n art�stica contempor�nea ilumina el estado social en el cual nos
encontramos de una manera creativa, cr�tica e ir�nica.

En general EN ROUTE promueve el intercambio cultural, la comprensi�n y la
creaci�n de un concepto de arte Europeo en espacios p�blicos de regiones
rurales culturalmente poco desarrollabas en Europa. Para el a�o 2004 m�s
Asociaciones de arte europeas est�n invitadas a participar en el proyecto y
colaborar as� a ampliar este movimiento que ha surgido.

EN ROUTE se inaugura el d�a 27 de septiembre a las 12:00 horas. Las obras
permanecer�n expuestas hasta el 19 de octubre.

Veil Of Gravity
Earth Become Heaven
Heaven Become Earth
Place Reversed
Into Non Place
Floor Become Wall
Wall Become Floor
Touch My Face
Face my Touch
Never Is Always
Always is Never

To Explain
Is To Be Sorry
Struggle & Prevail
Tectonic Shift
Imminent Failure
Excess & Exaggeration
Confidence Is A Key
The Hand I Feel Is Not A Hand
But The Idea Of The Hand
Planted In My Head

Chuuuu...ss...

Never Age & Never Die
Everywhere & Nowhere
Purity & Wisdom
In Excess
One Two Three
Violet Fence
Crucify Me
Once & 4 All
Sleep In Peace
Abstractly Absent
Observer and User
Space & Time
Surface & Volume
Amen!

when I arrived in Nice on the very blue Mediterannean sea most of the other Fluxus performers had arrived and taken over the cafe's and concert halls, three different halls all of them with different performances planned. We each got to choose a few event works from the past as well as put up some new objects in the museum and galleries. It was clear to all of us that Ben Vautier had the town at this feet! I remember looking longingly at the rolling ocean and wondering if there would be time for one little dip. Indeed there was just one dip taken with Sara Seagull with Larry Miller as chaperone to pull us out. The undertow was so strong and the rocks very difficult to navigate. beautiful clear cool water.

Overlooking the situation Larry and I decided to leave the indoor spaces for the older works and do something brave and new in the Garabaldi park. We chose the midday and selected a large abundantly spreading oak tree opposite the open air bus stop where the people waiting could form an unprogrammed random audience for my wrap up. This is how we did it: first Ben Vautier announced it to the audience who had gathered around the open air bus station, about fifty people and we stode out to the tree. Larry wore a white tux for his event and I carried my saran wrap and razor only weariing workers togs. We imported the sunlight with mirrors hand held by helpers that glanced the sun off his suit and the saranwrap magically/blindingly!

Attaching him to the tree was not easy as the bark of the tree would not hold onto the wrap so I had to do it tightly and connect the plastic to Larry himself. He looked like a shrink wrapped daikon with his poor nose held tight against his face. He looked very beautiful really and bravely endured the pose until I cut him free with the razor.

Then he did a piece called figure/ground rolling on the grass all over the Garabaldi Park getting green streaks and looking more and more like an impressionist painting which was his intent. I maintained the saran wrap for awhile on my arm and he wore the suit all day, through the supermarket and out to dinner.

Particularly in the supermarket his appearance was much oggled. The white satin tie and white silk shirt stained a streaky grass green. He had actually been dragged by two men across the park to be sure he got the desired green and brown color. I was reminded of Vuillard

Another piece that worked well was the finale of the church concert. the priest was also a vintage wine merchant and we had been savoring his Loire white since mid morning on Sunday. He joined us. The finale of this church event was forming a conga line and shuffling out to the seaside the whole audience lined up with us. We stopped the traffic to get across the street and lined up all of us to view the sea at dusk! this was quite thrilling.

All of these events took place outdoors, wrap up, figure/ground and shuffle. It seems to me that the time is pertinent for this sort of performance. Galleries and museums can always be energized and the surely need it now, by taking to the streets and working with strangers as well as the chance situations that the outdoor presents. Let's consider an artistorganized art. org performance event all outdoors. Perhaps in Paris or Berlin.

My friend Taketo Shimada is taking to the subways. In the next year he will change the sound of the turnstiles so each has one tone, different from the others making a random sound environment.He is working to do this in a station with five or six stiles to work with. He just got the grant to do this and I'll let you know the site.I go now to teach for a few weeks in Illinois, then I'll be making a huge salad in a museum garden on October 12. Do come the the Baltimore Museum of ARt if you are in town around six in the evening. It is a public event celebrating a show opening called Work Ethic. There will be music played in the garden, perhaps Haydn so they see that making a salad is as much music as visual art.

The Artist As Decorator Today some independent curators broker philanthropy to the public hiring the artist as an official decorator Those independent curators might be employed by artists organizing their own events Philanthropists unwittingly rely on curators as their middlemen who re-appropriate public resources returning to the grantors honorable decorations in the form of art products at great cost to the art community Repurposing curators could mean channeling philanthropic spaces, funds and materials into the hands of artist organizers Artist Organized Art is seeking curators who approach this theme by putting resources to work for artists organizing art

In addition to the giant slime escargot I propose the following: The biggest space in the Gug Mus Bilb is size of football field and is occupied by a large piece by Serra. It doesn't fit there. I suggest to haul the rusting mastodon where it belongs - to the junkyard. Instead I suggest to build a large surfing swimming pool with a wave machine capable of spiting 8 ft tubes every 15 seconds. The idea of water wave in a wavy, titanium covered building makes sense to me. This way the Gug Mus Bilb could become a Mecca for surfers and a place for a nonstop live performance.

>

Rated AOA

For Artist Organized Audiences

any orphaned wax museum

abandoned cinema

forgotten concert stage

might be diverted towards an artist organized venue

> There is no reason to exclude entertainment venues from repurposing

Re: Bilbao

I like the idea of a giant slime escargot. It would be nice match for the Puppy ( Jeff Koons ) who guards the entrance to the Museum. The giant slime escargot could be a mobile and robotic prop animated by remote controller in hands of retarded midget ( a tribute to David Lynch as well as to the uncertainty principle )
To make the beast eatable we could construct it out of marshmallow.
You could watch art while you eat it and therefore be a part of semi-religious communion.

Towards A Proposal
After a survey of this year's crop of Museum shows, it seems the only use these ethically empty places can offer is to physically empty themselves of has-been art objects and slick entertainment offerings. The spaces would better serve the needs of large scale artist organized art events. Perhaps the Bilbao site should be the starting point, as there is so little possibility for pre-existing non site-specific work to make use of the hollow shell. A gigantic slime covered snail would make more sense in this space than an exhibit of professionally postured theme driven curatorship. Has anyone done a survey of the total exhibition space of all Museums world wide in square feet.		In terms of materials it will be necessary to empty some of the museum of stored works to make room for sleeping quarters and fabrication facilities. Additionally, it will not be necessary for the general public to attend the events as the justification for their involvement today is simply that the buildings stay up on public funds. Artists organizing art events should help cut the financial reflex forcing the public to consume works chosen by a small group of curators. This confidence reversal indentures the public through institutional hypnosis.

some time ago our svengali behind the blog asked me to write about the bilbao gug mus
i told him
it was an insult to the idea of a place to show art
art there is unshowable
the only piece acceptable there is a piece by jenny holzer
and this place needs some radical match up
to it's magnificent architecture

so
i propose to get rid of all the art there
let's transform this place to a giant workshop for artist organized art !
Alleluya

I found this site for an artist organized event on a napkin at a Japanese restaurant in Tivoli NY last Saturday. The site is documented using a camera on a cell phone from which the picture was sent with no message and a cryptic voice memo. The dinner followed attending an opening at the Tivoli Artists Co-Op Gallery. This artist organized gallery is starting to draw impressive crowds. Usually the shows exhibit a desperate quality associated with limiting works to flat, portable visuals.

A warehouse of collectibles to be sent via the snail process to sit over some unknown's couch. However, i was impressed that they included a performance element by Women In Black. In their previous group exhibition this past August "Mixed Media" i saw works by at least 5 artists, including Jennifer Axinn, that were astonishingly good, unfortunately positioned as collectibles. Given the ease of porting visuals over cell systems i am conflicted about the speculation surrounding collectible formats.