Relational Aesthetics

AH 306: Contemporary Issues in Art
Fall 2009
Christina Schmid
Zack Goulet
Reading Response/Summary: Relational Aesthetics

Relational Aesthetics is a new form of art where the medium is people and the form is social interaction. Weather operating in a gallery setting or not, the artistic act, as stated by Bourriand, “strives to achieve modest connections, open up (One or two) obstructed passages, and connect levels of reality kept apart from one another,”(p.8) He says how its getting harder for people to maintain relationships without a common goods to exchange. He compares the modern social bond as a “standardized artifact” that must evolve into more genuine activism.

Active participation by the viewers in a gallery is popular because of how cold and dead people have been conditioned to act when in a museum. “Don’t Touch” is all I remember when I was kid and I can remember hating getting dragged to the art museum with my parents. Security guards threatening to take away my rubber bouncy ball. It would be fun to give people bouncy balls to play with in the CVA gallery if I ever get to have a solo show.

I think this form of art “work” is a great way to get people active about issues that need to be dealt with. On the other hand, instead of manipulating materials to create a conventional piece of art, the artists are manipulating people, but for a good cause. It is strange to think about the morals that perhaps are being abandoned by “making” this kind of art. But as we all know, morals left the art world when Andy Warhol did his thing, not to mention some of the cybernetic art out there that can be found by the artists of WWW.0100101110101101.ORG.

There is a genuine energy generated in these gatherings that is unique. More effective than physical art by being less aggressive and creatively subtle when compared to an already finished art product. Finished art hides the important creative process that will bring creativity (the essence of art) to the people and generates a subjective “shock” that can be intimidating to very sensitive viewers.

The shock is kind of a feeling of confusion rather than the empathy that someone might go to art looking for. These social art gallery performances invite viewers to participate in the creative process with generates raw positive energy.

The gatherings seem to aim for a positive final outcome even though the focus is the importance of the process. Grant Kester writes about how it integrates important political people together with drug-addicted prostitutes who need help getting off the streets. The social bond amidst social classes is defiantly something to be promoted.

In my opinion, these works seem to lack an element of creativity because they are structured settings of planned agendas. Because they are so much about the process, discussing the events afterwards feels inaccurate and leaves no mystery. The feelings and energy generated by whatever creative processes the people go through that are the magic of these pieces are ephemeral. I am open to the idea of enhancing social engagements in an effort to make art more Fun, especially in the gallery setting.

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