A newly formed arts cooperative called Brickhaus opened their show “Protest Thru art” in early September. I can not say that I appreciated much of the work. It gravitated between the extremes of too trite or trying too hard. However, the experience on the whole was powerful. Brickhaus is a raw environment that evokes creativity. Natty Boh flows freely, there is slight odor of humanity mixed with industrial musk, and not a member of the consuming one percent in sight. These are near optimal conditions for an emerging Baltimore artist and a meaningful art show.
That evening there was one work that captured my attention, so much so that in delight I took a piece of it home with me. It was a simple series of 11.5 x 14 inch white paper signs with the words “Future Home of the Contemporary Museum.” The bottom of the page displayed the url http://www.savethecontemporarymuseum.com. It had an adhesive substance on the back. My heist was the exact response the artist wanted.
Baltimore’s Contemporary Musuem of Art closed relatively abruptly this past spring after 22 years in operation. Upon visiting the protest art’s url you realize this under-appreciated institution meant something to the emerging arts community. In protest at the closing, the artist encouraged people to reproduce the sign and post it publicly on properties for rent or just plain vacant. The art was making a statement about an important institution and, just as important, the art made a statement about the developmental desire of the community.
This Baltimore-specific work reminded me of a broad sweeping public art movement that started in 2010 in New Orleans. Public artist Candy Chang recognized a significant supply of vacant properties and a significant demand for those properties to be used. To enhance the efficiency of the market she combined street art with urban planning. She created stickers that said “I wish this was__________”. The community was then invited to use the stickers broadly to define their desires for the blighted property. It was a beautiful work of art. The stickers were an expression in and of themselves, but just as important, they provided a voice to the populace. And oh, by the way, the installation let urban planners know what the “market” wanted.
The success of the installation was so great that many others have followed, and not just with blighted property. The project’s website documents numerous locations and poetic responses. Humanity is amazing! Probably the greatest testament to the art installation’s success is not the replication but the application. Bonafide community planning is now using this simple artistic technique.
Protest art can be productive, particularly when it is voice mixed with positive advancements. I passed along the sign from Brickhaus’ show to an active supporter of the Contemporary. He was moved by the work and quickly passed it along to the board. I am fairly confident the Contemporary will re-emerge in the not so distant future. And this artist protester has been heard!
