ARESTLESSARTINVITEDTEXT #1THEHOPEOFSOMETHINGDIFFERENT

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THEHOPEOFSOMETHINGDIFFERENTCHRISFREMANTLE

Saloislands(JackieBrookner)

Indiscussionsbetweenartistswhosework is focusedbyenvironmentandecology,there isageneralrecognitionofacommonalitywithartistswhoengageinsocialandcommunitypractices.Theworkoftenoperatesinbothrealms,sometimesseamlessly.Bothareinterestedindifferentformsofrelationality,particularlyinsharingandnegotiatingauthorshipwithcommunitiesandcreatingstoriesthatserveinterestsbeyondtheirown.

Thewords‘collaboration’and‘participation’comeupregularlyinthestatementsofbothsocial/community and environmental/ecological artists. The obituary of eminent ecoartist JackieBrooknerservestohighlightmulti-dimensionalcollaborationandparticipation:

AmongherrecentmajorprojectswereVedenTaika(TheMagicofWater),consistingofthreeman-madefloating islands inSalo,Finland:VedenTaikawasacollaborationwith localvolun-teers, regionalscienceexperts, thestudentsandfacultyoftheSaloPolytechnic Institute, theSaloParksDepartmentandOfficeofEnvironmentalProtection,BiomatrixWaterandthecoor-dinationofFinnishartistTuulaNikulainen(MalenandSchor,2015)

Thisshortstatement,verycharacteristicofecoartists,highlightsfirstworkingwithlocalvolun-teers,secondwithscientists,thirdlearnersandtheninstitutions.Lastbutnotleast,itacknowl-edgestheFinnishcoordinatingartistwithwhomJackie,asaUSbasedartistworkinginFinland,worked.

TheoristssuchasGrantKester,NicolasBourriaud,ClaireBishop and Shannon Jacksonhavewrittenabout practices focusing on dialogue, collabora-tionandthepoliticsofsocialandcommunityprac-tices.Theyhaveinvariouswayshelpedustosee

This isn’t an ‘aesthetics of facilitation’ or about ‘performing workshops’

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thatanaestheticsofprocessistheessentialfocusofartistsworkingwithdiverseinhabitantsandcommunities.Butthisisn’tan‘aestheticsoffacilitation’,about‘performingworkshops’.Ratheritisadeeperinterrogationofwhohasvoice,authorshipandagency.

Studentsbuildingtheislandstructures,volunteershelpingwithplanting(JackieBrookner)

Ifthebigshift,asGrantKestercurrentlyargues,istowardsco-productionasaknowledge-basedpractice,thenartists(andprobablydesignerstoo)whofocusonrelationshipssharecommoncause.Kestersays:

Idothinkthere isaparadigmshiftoccurring,specifically in theway inwhichweunderstandaestheticautonomy.Thisisn’tsimplyashiftinthecontentofwork,butintheunderlyingformalorganizationofartisticproduction.[...]Thesechangesaren’toccurringsimplybecauseartistsareasking different questions about their own creative practice. Rather, they reflect a broader,trans-disciplinaryinterestincollectiveknowledgeproduction(Kester2013)

It’sworthbearing inmindthatwhiletheartworldbelievesthe‘axisofnegotiation’isbe-tweentheintrinsicandtheinstrumental(artforart’ssakeversusartthatisuseful),thoseinvolvedinco-productioninthesocialrealmunderstandtheaxistobebetweentheinstru-mentalandthepolitical(isco-productionuse-ful to deliver services or is it empoweringusersandcommunities todeterminewhat servicesareuseful). It couldbeargued thatbothsocialandenvironmental/ecologicalartpracticesaremoreinterestedinthelatteraxisthantheformer,notbecausethequalityofartisnotimportant,butbecauseitsaestheticconcernslieintherelationsratherthaninisolation.Moreover,thesharingofauthorship,theprocessofco-production,isthelocusofaestheticexperience.

Is co-production useful to deliver services or is it empowering users and communities to decide what services are useful?

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Kestertalksabout‘trans-disciplinarity’,andthisterritoryisrifewithlanguageofmulti-,cross-,inter-,trans-,extra-andpost-disciplinarity.Alloftheseformationsattempttonuanceanunder-standingofdifferentconfigurationsofexpertiseworkingtogethertounderstandandoperateintheworld.Infact,thedisciplinaryaspectofthislanguageissometimesthemostproblematic,whenwerecognisethateverylivingthingknowsstuffandusesthatknowledgetoseekitsownwell-being.

Ifsomedimensionsofsocialandcommunitypracticearerights-oriented,thisistrueforsomeecoartspracticestoo.Oneofthemostfundamentalrightsistohaveyourunderstandingoftheworldrecognisedandvalued.

Bingham,Collins,GotoandStephen.NineMileRun:CommunityDialogues,1997-2000

TimCollins,writingaboutfouryearsofteamworkonNineMileRun,amajorbrownfieldsiteinPittsburgh,Pennsylvania,highlightstheroleoftheworkinrelationtoinhabitants:

Theproject team intentwas to transcend the roleofprimaryauthorship, instead initiatingacitizendiscourse,andacreativeengagementinthedefinition,formandfunctionofpost-indus-trialpublicspace.[…]Thedialoguewasintendedtocomplicatethediscourseofdevelopment,andcreateaspacewhichwouldnurturecreativecitizenvoices(Collins2001).

If socialandcommunitypracticesareconcernedwithhumanrelations, then itmightalsobeusefultopickuponTimCollins’articulationofenvironmentalandecologicalpractices.Timdis-tinguishesbetweenthemeaningsofthesewords.

• Environmentistherelationbetweenthebeinganditssurroundingsandthereforespeaksto‘place’.

• Ecologyisthestudyofthesystemsofrelationsbetweenlivingthingsandtheircontexts.Itplaceslessemphasisonthehumanatthecentreofeverything,andmoreontheconnected-nessofeverything.

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Ecologicalartissometimes‘useful’andsometimes‘political’,sometimesdrawingattentiontootherwaysofexperiencingandunderstanding theworldandourplace in it, andsometimesinvolvedinrestorationofecologicalsystems.Whatmightdistinguishitarequestionsaboutwhotheaestheticisfor:Ecoartistsimaginethattheaestheticcouldbeforallthelivingthingsinvolvedinthework,notjustforhumans.

JackieBrookner’sobituarygoesontosay:

Emblematicofherwork,theislandsprovidenestinghabitatforbirdsandplantbasedfiltrationforimprovingwaterqualityintheSaloBirdPools,lagoonsthatwereformerlyusedinthesewagetreatmentprocessesoftheSaloMunicipalSewageTreatmentFacility.Becauseanabundanceofmigratingandnestingbirdsnowusethelagoons,thepoolshavebeenestablishedasaEU-di-rectiveconservationsite.

Arehumanstheonly livingthingsthatappreciatetheaestheticofthework?Canweimaginethatthemigratingspecies,whoobviouslyknowhugeareasoflandscape,nowknowandknowhowtousethischangedpartoftheirlandscape?Doesthefactthatitishealthiermakeitamoresignificantpartoftheirlandscape?Isthataformofbeauty?DotheyhaveaRighttothis?

Kesterhasrecentlysuggestedthatart‘offer[ing]thehopeofsomethingdifferentfrom“theworldasitis,”isvaluedaboveallelse,’(Kester2015).Aconcernforrelations,theconnectednessofthings,isnotexclu-sive to the arts. As Kester argues, this change is awiderparadigmshiftacrossmanyaspectsofsociety.

Thedistinctivecontributionofbothcommunityandecologicalartspracticesisinthesharingofauthorshipandtherecognitionoftheauthorshipinothers.(Thisisaparticularchallengewithinthearts,wheresoleauthorshiphasbeenadefiningcharacteristicmirroredinasocietydrivenbyindividualism.)Ultimatelythequestioniswhetherthework(theart)canbetakenupbyin-habitants(orvisitors)andusedfortheirowneco-culturalwell-being.

WithmanythankstoAnnTRosenthalforherinput.

The question is whether the art can be taken up by people and used for their own well-being.

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REFERENCESCollins,Tim,“ConversationsintheRustBelt”inHerzogenrath,Bernd(ed),CriticalStudies,“FromVirginLandtoDisney

World:NatureandItsDiscontentsintheUSAofYesterdayandToday”,2001,pp.251-276(26)Kagan,Sacha,“ThePracticeofEcologicalArt”,Plastik:Art&Science,2014,http://art-science.univ-paris1.fr/plas-

tik/document.php?id=866accessed15December2015Kester,Grant,“OnCollaborativeArtPractices”,PraktykaTeoretyczna,2013,http://www.praktykateoretyczna.pl/grant-

h-kester-on-collaborative-art-practices/accessed7.12.2015Kester,Grant,“Editorial”,Field:AJournalofSociallyEngagedArtCriticism,Vol2.2015http://field-journal.com/issue-

2/kester-2accessed7.12.2015Malen,LenoreandSchor,Mira,“InMemoriam:JackieBrookner”,NewsGrist,2015http://www.news-

grist.typepad.com/underbelly/2015/05/in-memoriam-jackie-brookner-1945-2015.htmlaccessed7.12.2015

WEBSITESJackieBrookner: http://jackiebrookner.comTimCollins&ReikoGoto: http://collinsandgoto.comChrisFremantle: http://chris.fremantle.org http://ecoarscotland.net https://independent.academia.edu/ChrisFremantle

CHRISFREMANTLE

ChrisFremantleisaproducerandresearcherworkingacrosshealthcare,energyandecology.Heispartic-

ularlyinterestedhowpeople,particularlywithdifferentknowledgeandexpertiseworktogetherforeco-

culturalwell-being.

HewasformerlyDirectoroftheScottishSculptureWorkshopwhereakeythemeofhisprogrammewas

collaborativeandinterdisciplinary,includinginparticularPlaceofOrigin,a10yearlandscapeasartproject

resultinginanewpublicspaceandviewpointontherimofKemnayQuarry.Hehasbeenassociatedwith

OnTheEdgeResearch,Gray’sSchoolofArt,focusonartinpubliclife,sinceitsinceptionin2001,andhas

contributedtokeyprojectsincludingTheArtistasLeader.

HeworkedwithHelenMayerHarrison,NewtonHarrisonandDavidHaleyonGreenhouseBritain:Losing

Ground,GainingWisdom,aprojectaddressingadaptationtosealevelrise.Heledthedevelopmentand

implementationoftheartanddesignstrategyfortheNewSouthGlasgowHospitals,bringingthewhole

landscapeofScotlandintoonebuilding.HeiscurrentlyworkingwiththeLandArtGeneratorInitiativeon

thepossibilityof‘beautifulrenewables’forasiteinGlasgow,addressingquestionsofsocialandenviron-

mentaljusticethroughpublicart.