People seem to always seek out community and ways to have seamless interaction with one another in the communal experience. For example, the ubiquitous cell phone utilized to stay “ in touch” with others is a prime example of this phenomenon showing up in every area of our modern environment. This drive to stay “in touch” propelled advancements in communication and globalization. From newspapers, to the advent of television and on to the Internet, artists found unique ways to broaden the language through their conceptual dialogue.

New venues for broadened communication grew through open source software and personal computing. This offered the artist an inexpensive way to explore their communal language of concept in the new globalized art culture and market. Where commercial interests’ used the Internet and CD’s to increase their market, the artist utilized this cheap source of communication to expand their own aesthetic and cultural voice.

Power shifted from hierarchical organizations to democratized distributive networks, turning the local isolated artist community into a globalized village with expanded collaborative possibilities. Within this expression, artists employed the new media for critique of the culture and also for shared experimentation.

In 2001, The Radical Software Group produced Canivore, a cooperative piece involving a group of programmers along with numerous artists and art groups. The free flow of the conceptual language and cross discipline cooperation shaped a richer, more dense discourse, enabling the growth of ideas never before experienced on the world stage. They also challenged the notion of the artist as a solitary genius, often viewed as outside any network of influence and dependant on hierarchical gallery systems.

Free flow of ideas liberated from the influence of political, social, and cultural agendas enabled new organic systems to flourish apart from those power structures. This resulted in the creation of a healthy counter balance to the overgrown, regressive and lopsided machinations found in “out of touch” systems.

As artists related to each other through concept and the joining of those concepts via the new media of the web, it enabled culture to nourish and “stay in touch” with its roots, the primary source of growth.

The sixties ‘progress’ mantra utilized by municipal movers and shakers, found its expression in a wholesale demolition of large swaths of derelict buildings, regardless of their socio- historical significance. This veiled racist policy also cut freeways through the heart of black neighborhoods, severing families from their source of income and vital connection to others. To cap off this injustice ‘plop art’ filled these newly created civic spaces while completely disregarding the context and meaning within the specific space. The only unique trait coming from this phenomenon was the placement of sculpture, as an extension of the gallery minus the walls and guards to protect the piece. This male dominated field of monumental art included sculptors such as Alexander Calder, Henry Moore and Isamu Noguchi. Alexander Calder comments about placement of his work summed up the hostility, also shared by civic leaders, “he really doesn’t care if it relates to it’s surrounding or not.” These civic spaces became meaningless monuments to an arrogant, racist power elite, and simultaneously to the general community, hostile, impersonal and uninhabitable.

In 1974, funding standards for art began to shift by focusing “on art in the public place rather than sculpture in a public space” (Cultural Pilgrimages and Metaphorical Journeys, Suzanne Lacy pg. 23). Scott Burton, originally a performance artist, created ‘user friendly’ art appropriating and mimicking seating areas, tables and walkways for the public. Like many performance artist of that time he was concerned with blurring the lines between public and private space including the sculptural aesthetic versus the utilitarian function. Even though his work at the time sought to create more of a dynamic with people in general it still lacked the full language needed for engaging public art. Not only did aesthetics suffer under the weight of utilitarianism within civic projects, but also lacking was any reference to the unique needs and social identity of the local neighborhood. John Ahearn’s work, South Bronx Sculpture Park, 1991,was dismantled only five days after its installation. His work was rejected and even called racist because he was white and people felt he wrongly depicted African Americans and Puerto Ricans from the neighborhood.

As social aspects of neighborhood found their way into in this dialogue, art’s struggle for relevance within the public space took on more meaning. Rather than “building a piece merely on the typology of materials, spaces, or artistic meaning, the conversation integrated concepts of audience, relationships, communication and political intention” (Suzanne Lacy pg. 28).  The video artist, Krystoff Wodiczko implemented strategies of critic originally utilized in urban studies. His work showed contemporary urban problems of homelessness, murder and rape, in which the visual topic was projected onto civic statues. This transformed the monument original intent into a format to deal with current socio-political issues of the community. For example, the Bunker Hill monument was originally built to honor the battle fought between the British and the colonialist during the siege of Boston, but now was at the epicenter of a new wave of murders occurring in its very shadow. He projected a video feed on the monument showing family members of murder victims discussing their feelings of profound loss. A mother whose face filled the top of the 221 ft. monument intimated her sadness to people gathered around the 15acre park. His purpose was to build up trust again and go beyond the statistics by connecting on a very intimate level, not only problems everybody shares but possible solutions coming from real social interaction.  He endeavored to make sense of this tragedy by creating connections with the monuments historical meaning and contemporary public metaphors, which are the bond of meaningful community.

Only as communal space continues to evolve can authentic community realize its own unique voice. The artist is integral to this process only as they work along side the local community, becoming part of the ongoing dynamic language involving social justice, economic wholeness and genuine community.  From the days of “plop art” and Alexander Calder’s callus disregard for artistic integration in the civic space to Krystoff Wodiczko compelling video feeds, it seems like the necessary components of meaningful interaction are beginning to find traction in the public place. Hopefully this will continue so more problems of our neighborhood can be addressed through seeing each other as human beings rather than mere statistics or even worse, caricatures of misplaced civic pride.

Ingenuity- confidently innovating and adapting to embrace a changing world
(Approaching your challenge in ways predecessors never imagined)
1. Always remain open to new ideas, even in old age
2. Always learning and freely passing on your knowledge

Love- engaging others in a positive loving attitude
1. Profound respect for other people and for all creation
2. Appreciation for oneself as loved and important
3. Honor truth above your ego and ambitions
4. Influence others by example

Heroism- energizing yourself and others through heroic ambitions,
or sheer ambition of your heroic goals.
1.Devote self to excellence
2. Develop daily habit of tuning out everyday distractions in order to reflect
3.Developing a METHOD for considering choices and making decisions