And then she said...

In Grant Kester's "Conversation Pieces" there are many ideas that offer tantalising alternatives to what we term 'art'. The work by the collective WochenKlausur struck a chord with me - as someone who can talk the leg off a chair, I've always lived by the idea that communication is the greatest catalyst that we have in society. The idea that consensus may be achieved in the face of a seemingly impossible status quo is exciting and challenging. WochenKlausur have approached this concept with intelligence and success.

Reading Kester's passionate ideas on Dialogical Art sparked an interest thought: when the shitstorm that hit Bill Henson's world in 2008 and those in his orbit exploded out of control into the wider world the thought of a meaningful dialogue vanished. The artistic, political and social detritus left behind by this storm ensured that the aesthetic experience as it relates to photographic works, especially those involving youth will be viewed with suspicion from now on.

It occurred to me that in the middle of all this, a great opportunity for dialogue had been squandered, in particular when I consider Kester's thought that "...conversation becomes... an active, generative process that can help us speak and imagine beyond the limits of fixed identities, official discourse, and the perceived inevitability of partisan political conflict." And just as WochenKlausur brought together drug-addicted prostitutes with the authorities who perpetuated their misery simply by sticking to policy, and Suzanne Lacy brought together young blacks and the authorities who perpetuated their criminality through police actions that responded to a stereotyped view, I imagined a forum in which Bill Henson, talkback radio shock jocks, members of the police force, press and TV media, the Classification Board, politicians, and child protection agencies could have a meaningful dialogue without accusations and blind partisanship.

Looking back at the hysteria surrounding Henson's exhibition, it would seem fruitless trying to create this type of dialogue. However, Suzanne Lacy was able to achieve an equally (seemingly) impossible task by "[encouraging black high school students and the police] to speak and listen outside the tensions that surround their typical interactions on the street and to look beyond their respective assumptions about each other."

Achieving this kind of forum on Henson's work and its implications for societal standards would allow "an internal critique of [Henson's] work of art, into a set of positive practices directed toward the world beyond the gallery walls, linking new forms of intersubjective experience with social or political activism." It certainly would extend the dialogue about art, its meaning, value and definition in relation to the broader social and political world.

While dialogue is not and has never been an integral part of Henson's work, 2008 seemed like the perfect time to have added a new dimension to the work through the relational aesthetic of a collaborative, dialogical approach.

On a more random note, I'm disappointed no-one went for the obvious, punny title of "The Art of Conversation" for one of the blog entries.

On another random note, what next Lapa, a T-Rex?