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July 2008 ‘Recycling South African Contemporary
Art’, ‘Democratise your art collection’ ‘Deprivatising Contemporary Art’ are
tag lines of the Joburg Art Bin, a project which
launched at the Bag Factory last Friday night in association with the Bag
Factory’s About Art programme. It is no surprise that these tag lines, included in
the initial advertisement for the project, stirred some reaction and at the
Bag Factory we received more email responses questioning or objecting than we
have previously received for an About Art project. We also received a
higher than usual attendance on the rather chilly evening of the panel
discussion than we usually would on a Friday night. These deliberately cheeky and seemingly shallow
slogans achieved what they were designed to provoke – a response.
Though, curiously, some who objected to the premise of the project declined
to attend the panel discussion on the grounds that they did not agree with the
project. Surely this would be the very reason to attend if one strongly
disagrees with a contentious project? How often, as a member of the
public, is one asked to voice an opinion and if one has a strong opinion, why
would one decline the opportunity? Indeed, many of the attending panellists had strong
objections to the project and despite the frivolous nature of the satirical
take on Marxist rhetoric included in the e-invite, the conversation delved
into some serious matters regarding copy-write and ownership when it come to
the preservation, handling and exchange of art objects. But let us back track a bit, What is Joburg Art Bin and what are they proposing? Joburg Art Bin is a project facilitated by a loose collective of three
artists, Paul Cooper, Brendan Grey and Landi Raubenheimer who for the purposes of this project are
calling themselves Empty Office. To quote the collective directly: ‘Empty Office contends that the intention of
much contemporary art to reflect and affect social change is nullified
through its commoditisation by the privileged classes and should therefore be
democratized by recuperating it and inserting it into the public
sphere.’ Or to simplify, Empty Office would like to invite
members of the art collecting public to drop off some of their art in
specially designed bins at the Bag Factory. This donated art will then
be reworked, recycled and reinvented into proposals for a public art
work. A presentation of these proposals will take place in the Bag
Factory Gallery space. Proposals and not artworks, so once again the
public is given the space to comment. This is not the brazen destruction of an
artwork. It is not the reinvention of history to suit a current mode of
thinking nor is it a white-washing, pulling down of monuments and changing of
street names designed to remove hurt but equally any reminder of what horror
lurks when we forget our past mistakes. This is not a book burning. One has to carefully consider the kinds of objects
that will be donated to the Art Bin: that which is no longer of value to the
owner because, as Empty Office put it, it has reached its sell by date or
because it has been damaged in some way. A reinterpretation of such
work potentially adds value rather than criticism. It is creative
rather than destructive and possibly adds poetic reference to the initial
intention of the original artist. It gives second life. What will
transpire remains to be seen. Ironically the acronym for Joburg
Art Bin is JAB, and this is what the project seems to have begun to
achieve. A jab not to offend, but a sharp awakening to consider what
one’s opinions and views are on the value of the art object.
Regardless of one’s opinions on the project as a whole, the questions
raised by it were a catalyst at the panel evening for a discussion around
what we treasure in an art object. Is it always the initial statement
or vision of the artists? Their views or their vision? Or do we
begin to focus more on the commercial value of an object – what it
sells for or how old it is? What do we oppose more, the burning of a
Ferrari or a pile of old school books? There is no correct answer here, but there is plenty
of space to put forward an opinion. Empty Office will begin posting their progress and
thoughts on the Bag Factory blog. Please feel
invited to comment. Rat Western Newsletter Editor |
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