The collective WochenKlauser's work "Intervention to aid drug addicted women" in 1994 saw a boatload of prostitutes, politicians, journalists and activists sail out on Lake Zurich, Sweden, for a three hour cruise. The point of the work was to open up dialogue between drug addicted women who had turned to prostitution to support their habit and were constantly abused, assaulted and homeless, and well known governmental figures. Away from public scrutiny, the people on board could speak freely to each other to discuss the issues that these women faced. Around a dozen of these cruises took place. This work resulted in a kind of a half way house being established to help house the homeless women.
Taken out of a gallery context, art works (ie, WochenKlauser) that explore community, interactivity and dialogue can effect our day to day lives. The work ceases to exist purely as process to further promote and strengthen the ideal of community.
this is the focus of a later lecture - it takes us much deeper into the key concerns of this unit and leaves behind the art institution.
ReplyDeleteeep! this work sounds kinda problematic to me.
ReplyDeleteThe work sounds like it has the potential to be quite didactic or at least used in a didactic way - i.e sex workers are powerless as a result of drug use - the kind of line the media push all the time. Defenseless drug dependent sex workers get help - wow how that must have won votes!
I'm not saying the outcome wasn't necessarily good.. it's just that these kinds of works can become representative of the 'bigger issues' and pigeon hole sex workers and drug users. similar to the genre of homeless portraits - which portray all homeless people as living poorly on the street when the issue is so much bigger than this.
I guess I don't know if I think this work is the best example of exploring community, it's sounds like there could have been some pretty big political agendas at work here.
Around the time of this work these women were stigmatised by the people of Sweden. If a politician were seen out having coffee with a group of prostitutes I'm sure they wouldn't have got too many votes, and it would have most likely been blown up in to a scandalous event. If there is to be any sense of community you need dialogue, which is exactly what this work opened up. Through dialogue an understanding between people can be sought and first appearances ignored. It isn't at all about pigeonholing people but getting to deeper issues that will help to resolve problems.
ReplyDelete