Homeless Vehicle Project

I had some major problems with this article though I feel that my own experiences have greatly influenced that.  I felt that this project was not truly art, though an interesting approach to a problem in a specific area.  That said the design of this project was truly novel to me.  Creating a way for the homeless to keep their pride/independence while actually improving their quality of life was a design feat.  It brings me to question why aren't more projects done like this, asking designers/engineers about problems that are outside their normal venue in order to render new ideas?

One major problem I had with the article was that the people writing it hadn't consulted/talked to a single female homeless person.  I myself have volunteered quite a bit in NYC helping the homeless spending time talking to them and listening to their problems.  It seemed like a lackluster effort as far as research goes to not talk to an important part of the group whose problems they are trying to address.

Site Analysis

In researching Civic Center Park this is some of what I found

http://www.denvergov.org/AboutDenver/history_narrative_6.asp

Robert W. Speer Speer shared his vision in a January 7, 1907 pep talk to the city council: "We are in a plastic state. As the twig is bent so the tree will grow.... Denver can be made one of the ordinary cities of the country, or she can be made the Paris of America. It will cost money, but this investment will pay ten dollars for every one spent. Let us start [with Civic Center] plaza near the business center—have statues, trees, and flowers—where our people and tourists may gather each evening under the most artistic electric lighting—near the spray from grand fountains and listen to the finest music in the land....Then build not an ordinary, but an extraordinary drive or Appian Way into the mountains.... Take these forward steps, and you will never turn back—our future greatness will be assured."

Current ongoings

http://www.civiccenterfriends.blogspot.com/

General history –Government site

https://www.denvergov.org/CouncilDistrict10/CivicCenter/tabid/382974/Default.aspx

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Denvers-Civic-Center-Park/61865302953

Park webcam

http://www.camvista.com/usa/colorado/webcams/denver_civic_center.php

Denver parks Policy change

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_16157610

Chapter 1 - Miwon Kwon

This has to be one of the more difficult readings I've encountered in talking about art.  Its dense, verbose, and very very academic.  The introduction itself was a bit overbearing summing up each chapter rather than overall message.

I couldn't make it through 3 pages without turning to the dictionary/internet to find out about underlying theories several times.  I found the entire chapter seemed to assume previous reading of several other textbooks/theories. Though this itself is not necessarily bad it just frustrates me a bit.

However, Kwons work goes into much greater depth into how site-specific design has evolved over time.  Going from inside the gallery to analyzing the site of the gallery through such pieces as 'Measurement: Room' and 'Within and Beyond the Frame'.  It really shows how artists/art evolved out of the gallery rather than just suddenly appearing as a movement.  It allowed artists to truly interact with their site as a piece of work, to question it and criticize it.
Mierle Uskele's work was itself genius in creating "maintenance art" questioning the very how of the white walls and floors.  Who keeps these spaces clean late at night, forcing the audience to see the work happening during the day/operating hours. It also brings into question the gender roles of the work she was doing in cleaning. 

Some of the examples seemed to truly confuse me though.  Specifically Mark Dion's On Tropical Nature had a confusing definition of site.  He divided it up into four parts, four specific 'sites' though I couldn't for the life of me believe that beyond the site in the rain-forest and the site in the gallery that the third and fourth sites existed other than as conceptual ideas.  In my opinion it was a bit much.  How do we define a site?  Is it simply physical? Do sight lines constrain a work?  Can a work influence an entire area even if it can't always be seen?

Civic Center Park trip 1

Pictures, top to bottom (The capital building, a fence in front of the capital steps,  the shuffleboard court, the view of the South end of the park, and one of the walls close to the shuffleboard)

Above are some of the photos from my class's trip to Civic Center Park.  We were analyzing the site for a proposal for public art that we are each going to create.  Overall I found myself focusing on the peculiarities in the park.  The things I found odd about the site seemed to jump out at me screaming for attention, but I'll go into those later in my site analysis.


Civic Center Park is undeniably beautiful.  It has been carefully crafted as a crossroads between Art/History and the commercial, the judicial and the legislative.  Below are the transcriptions of my notes though some of them are more steam of consciousness than complete thoughts.

Public vs Official
   Actual use vs intended use
Stone Axis accentuated by landscaping
Golden Triangle,
   - light industry
Colfax - longest running commercial st.
   Bends around the park, forces you to at least look at it.
   view artwork on the edge of the park.
Old art (memorials) vs New art
      How do you compare them, how do they relate to each other

Landscaping - Who designed it?  What was their motivation?
       Community garden in one corner, interesting idea. Maybe it will expand.
Lighting - Ornate posts, do they work?  Are they maintained?
Contradiction of North vs South, commercial/art. 
Architecture doesn't differentiate maybe infers their similarities?
Who uses the park? When/why?

What is the upkeep costs? What about design costs?
Civic Center built 1912-1920
      -Restored 1989-1992
Entertainment
Amphitheater,  Shuffleboard -games

Response to History of site-specificity in art, by Gillian McIver

In reading McIver's piece I've once again realized that there is a heck of a lot that I don't understand about art. The Situationists in my opinion certainly have a point about the 'closed' nature of the art world, specifically about galleries and their sterility. Though the white space of the galleries allows for a 'neutral' space/ground for the art to be presented, I've always felt that so many galleries are larger than they need to be, they(many galleries/not all) lack a sense of personality or feeling.

Though McIver separates two strains of work coming out of the 1970's, one being 'community' art and the other being 'happenings/events'. Both of these strains had their problems and have evolved over the years. But, specifically the 'community' art ran into problems with how one defines community, which community is the art addressing/not addressing. Since then it has become more site specific in relation to the entire area that surrounds the site rather than one specific community. I think that its more important for art to critique, to 'call into crisis' as one of the readings mention, forcing the viewer to question not only the work but the problem it address.

The creation of art in obscure derelict buildings intrigues me not only because its out of the norm, but because of its 'purity'. They are creating art they the artists realize is not going to be seen by many people not because its in a private collection or in a gallery(rather than outside/in public). They are creating art to specifically call into question the un-use of a site, what does abandonment lead to, how we can ignore the dereliction of buildings and areas. Has this ever been done to a 'ghost' town, a town that has been abandoned? Is the best way to alter peoples perceptions (through viewing the work) through promoting the work or through documenting it through video/pictures?

Critical Spatial Practice Jane Rendell

In looking at this piece I find myself much more inspired by its attempt to define public/site-specific art. To be honest I'd never much considered creating public art before taking this class, nor had I thought critically about public art beyond appreciating its overall design. Instead of bogging us down with overly nuanced terminology. Practicing 'critical spacial practice' doesn't seem as overbearing as the way site-specific design is defined in the other reading. Coming up with problems/questions in a specific site or a way to cause the audience to question the site seems demanding but invigorating.

Though I was formerly a Poli-Sci major I can't seem to understand why in talking about critical theory why Rendell connects all of the writers through their interest in Marx, Freud, and Hegel. Though combined they represent major players in the history of Political-Science/Psychiatry/Sociology respectively I don't see why she brings the subject up.

In reading this what I truly realized is that public art doesn't/shouldn't just beautify a space. It can critique a space, call into question the use/problems that exist around the site. To me this is a fairly different way of thinking on site-specificity.

Botanic Gardens

On the sixteenth our class was lucky enough to visit the Denver Botanic Gardens and be able to talk to Osman Akan as well as the head of installation for his Albedo piece. I found it fascinating to talk to the chief of installation, specifically how it was required to have a 3D model for large works like Albedo. It makes it easier for the engineers to determine structural feasibility and other important factors, like will it stand up.

After talking to Osman we were able to spend some time walking through the rest of the Gardens looking at the Henry Moore works that had been installed. It was interesting to see site specific/non-site specific work, by that I mean Mr. Moore wanted the works to travel and a committee surveys possible sites for his works to travel to. Thus the work changes in relation to each new place it travels to. I found the works and sight lines on the sculptures to not only be attractive but to truly accentuate to paths around the Gardens