Instructions:
Talk, listen, and interview other artists. Research the Seer Project (Lee Mingwei) and watch presentation videos from the Creative Capital Retreat.
Response:
Creative Capital Artist Presentations
Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts
I liked that she was inhabiting a space relevant to the story she was telling. It really brings home the idea that important things happen in ordinary places all the time.
Jae Rhim Lee
This project is my favorite out of the four. I completely agree with many of the sentiments Lee talks about. The transition of her projects from the FEMA trailers to the burial suits might seem unusual, but the main point of health and formaldehyde gives a logical path to follow. It is a good progression of her work.
Maria Gaspar
This project is definitely what most people think about in regards to community-engaged art. It is taking the positive aspects of an area as a project base instead of the negative aspects which tend to be the ones that are publicized the most.
Cassils Presents
Self determination and self awareness. The performances focus on elemental and instrinsic ideas.
2012 murders of LGBTQ went up 20%. Creating the permanent and durable cast sculptures makes these projects more impactful. It will reach people that would not necessarily attend a performance art exhibit, and placing them within a community context is so important to making them relevant in everyday settings. Have these sculptures been installed?
The Seer Project – Lee Mingwei
In relation to this semesters work on understanding and accepting a wider range of what is art, I really gravitated towards the quote, “Thus we are all artists expressing our true nature through the ongoing minute-by-minute activity of composing our lives out of the flux, out of the floating world.” – Kay Larson. It really embodies the purpose of art in social practice and community engagement.
Lee Mingwei’s project all involve a, “self-checking system” that helps make the experiences more authentic, less forced. As an off shoot of this the artist is not upset when people do not participate. – this seems like an important difference to note in Lee’s work from other participatory art actions when community is expected to participate in the making of a mural, or the design of a community piece.