We have spent the past few months discussing various forms of sustainability and it’s relation to public art. In this unit, we were introduced specifically to the concept of economic sustainability, it’s significance, and how and when artists have and continue to implement it in their work. Public art, time and time again, proves to be a powerful way of communicating messages to masses. We stop and stare at the murals on our walls and the intricate works on our sidewalks, most of which signify or communicate ideas of sustainability. Just as environmental sustainability and social sustainability are deeply related to public art, so are the concepts of economic sustainability.
For something to be considered sustainable, it must meet the needs of people today, without compromising the needs of the people of the future. When we studied social sustainability, we realized just how important so many things in a community can be. We studied artists whose work focused on creating safe spaces and participatory works. In many cases, artists used their works to fight for social causes and empower those who typically go without proper representation. In this case, in studying economic sustainability, we have seen a greater emphasis on marginalization, economic inequality, and government systems. Many of the artists we have studied in this unit work to bring awareness to these wide-spread issues.
For my artist report this unit, I researched and presented some of Cameron Rowland’s public artworks, including: Handpunch, Group of 11 Used Bikes, Jim Crow, and several other works. Through so many of his works, Rowland demonstrates the ways systemic racism and structural inequality are present in our daily lives. In one of his works, he exposes the criminalization of the laborer by showcasing a timeclock with a biometric scanner. Biometric scanning, through fingerprinting and other forms, was developed as a form of criminal indexing, having made its way into the workforce, this shows just how serious punishment for wasted time (money) has become. His other work, Group of 11 Used Bikes, represents injustice and extortion through civil asset forfeiture and the seizure of property by police. Police and organizations such as ICE seize property from individuals and retain most of the profit from its sale. His exposition of Leveler Rings for Manhole Openings consists of four manhole leveler rings, cast by American prisoners. The prisoners are paid almost nothing for their work, but these tools are used year-round when repaving roads. The significance is that these tools and so many other things that help us get along in our daily lives are made by extorted and marginalized Americans.
Many artists of economically sustainable art tend to focus quite a bit on the social and racial injustices in America, as those are major issues today; however, other artists like Santiago Sierra focus on more global issues. Sierra, an artist from Madrid, Spain, focuses on global relations and exposes the flaws and inherently inequitable aspects of modern capitalism. In his artwork Impenetrable Structure, he filled a room with grids of barbed wire and nothing else. Only one visitor could enter at a time, creating a sense of restriction and secrecy. His work was meant to represent the growing divide between countries and the barriers present in places of war. In one of his other exhibits, 160 cm Line Tattooed on 4 People, he records a woman tattooing a line across the backs of four drug addicted women. He uses this work to illustrate the ways in which people and human labor are exploited through capitalism. He paid some of the most marginalized and most ignored people in society to do “pointless or repetitive tasks that are often absurd or degrading.” (Tate). There are strong hierarchical systems in many of today’s ‘greatest’ nations that so many of us refuse to recognize, and Sierra’s works help us to realize this.
Over the course of the semester, I have that there is so much more to public art than what meets the eye! Because public art often signifies and portrays concepts of sustainability, I have also learned so much more than I ever thought I could about sustainability. What we have studied this semester has inspired me to put my beliefs regarding sustainability into action. I feel now that I have a stronger sense of where I stand in my beliefs and this gives me a great sense of purpose and need for action. There could not have been a better time to study sustainability, as our current global crisis reveals so many social, economic, and environmental issues. Through the rest of the semester and beyond, I look forward to engaging communities and the people around me through public art and my advocacy for justice and sustainability.
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