[-empyre-] the art of forgetting

[Cynthia Beth Rubin]

I agree with Simon Biggs - I do believe that this statement is true - and increasingly so, in a world where many artists are questioning our role

>> "It's part of the role of artists to ensure we don't forget


Are we making objects or are we engaging ideas?  This is the crucial core of the debate.  Of course we often do both, but which do we prioritize?  

No artist can escape thinking about this, especially in today's economic times,  where "blue chip" artists are dominating the art discussion:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/fashion/13CurrinFeinstein.html

Many of us prioritize ideas by choice.  Our wanderings in the New Media world may be part of this - especially for those of us who wandered into new media before the established "blue chip" gallery and museum world even considered new media as art.  We were attracted by the creative potential and little else. At one time ideas may have simply been compositional tensions - the visual equivalent of music - however one could argue that even the abstract formalists prompted us to "remember" as they created a contemplative space, which by its very nature, promotes remembering.

Now, with new media means of incorporating representational historical imagery and sounds into our work, more of us are exploring a variety of ways of more directly asking our audience to remember, and to do so from a base of the artistic imperative to engage the imagination beyond the obvious layer of direct representation.  

Last year I was part of a team of artists who organized a group exhibition based on remembering a particular historical site, linked to a specific cultural heritage but attracting artist-participants from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.  In today's world, specific histories can speak to all of us.  Artists can stir the imagination and engage in story-telling, and the artists in this exhibition did so through media as diverse as oral history listening stations in a "living room" installation complete with snacks; archival photographs assembled in a provocative collection making real the losses of urban renewal; a dress (made for this exhibition) with photo-transfers, embroidered decorative motifs, and layers of symbolism (literally).   This was difficult territory to navigate, in a world where many people still view artists as either making self-indulgent personal outpourings or making objects to sell. It was not without direct challenges - however the success of the exhibition (about 500 people on opening day) and the requests now to work with other groups in organizing similar exhibitions are now pouring in.  This first exhibition was based on a historic synagogue (meaning that we asked artists to respect certain boundaries) - however our next project will be with an entirely different group.

The works in this exhibition were not graphic designed history lessons - they were true aesthetic interpretations and thoughtful, researched responses to a shared theme, so that the exhibition, when taken as a whole, engaged a historical narrative.

http://culturalheritageartistsproject.org
(just the video is here: http://culturalheritageartistsproject.org/video.html

Cynthia Beth Rubin
http://CBRubin.net