disappearing blog - Conversation Pieces

“ An artist is expected to cross the line (morally) and push boundaries that the ordinary, would not often dare to pursue ”

Conversation Pieces
Community and Communication in Modern Art
Grant H Kester

Departing from tradition object making, the introduction of conversation Pieces, expresses projects developed and pursued by a variety of artists. Using performative based approaches this group or artists are described as “context providers” rather then “content providers”. In which they are creatively collaborating various personalities and organised discussions, interventions as well as providing ‘safe havens’ for stereo typical identities.

I find the organised meetings such as Wochen Klauser’s floating dialogues interesting after having a conversation with a studio lecturer agreeing that artists should and normally do cross the line, through work and generally crossing over into your life. The artists are now creating an environment that the general public are faced with seeing what they would/could generally turn a blind eye towards. The aim to start a conversation was based around the drug issues that then later led to prostitution in Zurich and creating moral ways to stop these women/men staying/becoming homeless. At the same time in California A rooftop meeting was going on dealing with issues of stereotypes, racial profiling (etc.) These groupings of artists and ordinary people were creating a space in which people could talk about community issues with those that are facing them in everyday life, The collaborative artists were context providers.

I find these performances relate closely to a television show on SBS called ‘Insight’ In which a host has organised a topic of interest and those in the community that relate to it are involved in the audience and a dictated conversation is able to take place. To take away stereotypical points of view on the general public.
Like the projects they are public dialogues, that also help children, men, women anyone face the problems they encounter in their everyday life. Even though the host may not be an artist and it is in an organised tv studio, the idea behind the movement is clearly seen here in this act of community and groupings of different racial, religious and political backgrounds.

“ The questions that are raised by these projects have a broader cultural and political resonance as well.
How do we form collective community identities with out scapegoating those who are excluded from them?
Is it possible to develop cross cultural dialogue without sacrificing the unique identities of individual speakers? And what does it mean for the artist to surrender the security of self expression for the risk of inter subjective engagement.”

The introduction of this book contains a lot of information about particular views, and branches out to many artists and their communities. I find the writing interesting and in relation to avant garde and the fact that they have developed new interactions and methods of art practice to shock the viewer lifting them out of their ‘familiar boundaries of a common language, existing modes of representation and even their own sense of self’ placing them in a conversation rather then one they would have about something on their own.

The whole movement is about the ‘dialogue aesthetic’ rather then the aesthetics of an object. Which I don’t Mind, but being obsessed with art and its practices I will continue to develop my skills in the studio every day. Trying to produce what I think is an aesthetically beautiful object.