Gimmick
or Art?
(original 01 Sept 2001;
current rev from draft 26 Sept 2012)
Marketing gimmicks or public art? What are we to make of the waves of cattle
invading downtown Chicago, moose in Toronto, or cartoon characters holding down
street corners in St Paul? These
fiberglass sculptures seem to be quite successful examples of the former while
being not altogether unworthy of the latter designation as art.
It would seem a bit preposterous to label
the individual units of these events as objects of fine art; yet, perhaps their
true artistic merit lies in the effect of the pieces as a whole. Each of these sidewalk invasions has been
labeled, with the full complicity of the local arts community, as public art
events, yet each has also been criticized as mere marketing gimmicks.
What is it then that might qualify these
objects as art? Perhaps we need to examine
these events not as potential “gallery” exhibitions, but rather as designators
of place and evocative emotional agents, i.e. art.
