Whose Land is Your Land (ft. James Luna)

One of my more enjoyable and stimulating classes this semester was "The History of Food and Eating," which is part of my agenda to fulfill my minor in Environmental Justice & Sustainability.

Earlier this semester we read Changes in the Land, by William Cronon which analyzes the ecology of New England over time under the feet of Indians and English Colonists between 1620 and 1800. It did start out as boring as you're imagining, but it got better.

The point is, as I waded through the book I starting getting really uncomfortable with the fate of the indigenous people of this land as it's been documented. As frustrating as it is for me to understand people who put their own comforts and habits before simple justice as far as the environment, I honestly can't think of anything more unfair than what happened to the Indians.

The artist that immediately comes to mind is James Luna. The "Writing on Art" course I took sophomore year gave him a particular spotlight when we talked about performance art, and The Artifact Piece, perhaps his most famous piece, really stuck in my head:

Yup, that's actually an alive human... (the artist) also with some documents about his life, like a high school diploma.

The piece has a clear message but of course it brings me back to my what-is-art question... I like it, but I'm not really sure where to place it.  You know?

http://www.jamesluna.com/

(image with permission from James Luna)

Agnes Denes: Environmental Artist, Pioneer, Badass

First of all, I found a bunch of information about this artist on the Women Environmental Artists Directory (WEAD) Who knew?? http://weadartists.org/ You can bet that site is going to come up again…

Agnes Denes started doing badass environmental art pieces starting in the 60s, but the one that really stands out is Wheatfield - A Confrontation (1982), which is literally a two-acre field of wheat she planted in downtown Manhattan.  She said she wanted to "call people's attention to having to rethink their priorities." Right on, Agnes!

Wheatfield - A Confrontation: Battery Park Landfill, Downtown Manhattan—with New York Financial Center, 1982.
—2 acres of wheat planted and harvested by the artist on a landfill in Manhattan's financial district,
a block from Wall Street and the World Trade Center, summer 1982.
Commissioned by Public Art Fund, New York City. Photo: © Agnes Denes

Denes was one of the first artists to produce some really environmental pieces.  Even though I love this because I'm all for putting out-of-place things in people's faces to make a point, I have to come back to my "What is Art?" point here.  Is every farmer an artist?  Is this only "art" because of the context? I know that for me, context is the number one aspect of an art piece. Super important. And here it's obviously affecting the idea hugely.

In my opinion, though Denes may be an artist, this particular work is an activist piece. It's certainly making a statement (which I love) but, though not being able to define art, I'd be hesitant to make any definitive statement about this being it.

http://www.agnesdenesstudio.com/index.html

(images with permission from Agnes Denes)

MEM: memory•memorial

The current exhibition at the Hartnett Gallery on campus at the University of Rochester is Naomi Kasumi's "MEM: memory•memorial."

I got the chance to hear the artist's talk and go to the opening yesterday. Naomi Kasumi, who lived most of her life in Japan, teaches at the University of Seattle. We art majors at UR had the opportunity to get studio visits from her this week.

I learned from our conversation that she has her own experience with "environmental art" (whatever that means), and I confessed that one of my fears in this genre is producing cliché work. It was really helpful to hear a professional artist talk about her own experience being stereotyped in that field.  I know it's something that's bound to happen to me as I make more stuff…

Hearing Naomi speak about her past projects before seeing the show at Hartnett was significant.  Since an abortion in 1998, the artist has created an intricate memorial for her unborn child every year on May 23 for the past 13 years. The project shown at Hartnett comprises several sets of 108 unfolded teabags, layered with wax as well as images, text, calligraphy, butterfly wings and held together by hand-tied string.

Although her exhibits are aesthetically pleasing and deeply emotional pieces, I begin to consider all the *things* (like memorials) that I generally don't consider to be "art."

When I think of the "best" memorials I've visited (and believe me, I don't know what I mean by "best"-- maybe most powerful?) two come to mind:








The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Berlin)


and The Irish Hunger Memorial (New York City) 
(Which, by the way is impossible to photograph. If you get the chance, please go-- it's worth it.)

It's tricky because I feel like you do need an artist to come up with these kinds of ideas and to put them together, so I don't have an answer. I'm just being critical and annoying.

A recurring theme that you'll find here is the devilish,
unanswerable query: what is art ?


Which, as I mentioned, stabs at my own artsy-heart as I toe the line between art and activism. (Super hard to toe something that's not a line, by the way…) Hopefully all this QUESTIONING will eventually make me sound like I know what I'm talking about. Someday.


(all the photos in this post were taken by me)