Browne Michelle
Michelle hails from Ireland where she does crazy things with performance in public space. As well as practicing as an artist she also curates a performance in space festival called out of site. When asked to define what performance actually means she came out with a genius definition which I have since forgotten. Something like ‘using actions and gestures in lieu of painting as a means of expressing her thoughts and concepts… she put it better.
To see what these ‘crazy things’ are you can check out http://www.michellebrowne.net and http://www.outofsite.info. Another great website showing art projects made outside of the gallery in Ireland is http://www.blackletter.ie.
urbanwasanii
June 20, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Since we began the workshop I have wondered about my role here. What place do I have as a ‘mzungu’ coming to make art in Kenya? Walking through Barsheba I wondered how art fits into this place? What is public space to this community? I was conscious of not wanted to come to fix anything, to do something related to social/aid work. But then what do this community need? What kind of public art should be made there?
Nancy Fraser wrote in ‘Politics, culture and the public sphere: towards a postmodern conception’ :
The idea of the public sphere…designates a theatre in modern societies in which political participation is enacted … where social meanings are generated, circulated, contested and reconstructed. It is a primary arena for the making of hegemony and of cultural common sense.
I wonder then how this idea of the public sphere relates to this community and this nation. In Barsheba the women use the open ‘public spaces’ to do everyday chores like washing clothes. The local youth mark their territory, their maskani, where they hang out. Corn is being grow in clearings between houses. The Jua Kali informal sector of ecconomic activity is also present. This public space seems to be very much owned and functional. The people here are very much engaged with the generation of ’social meanings’ and ‘cultural common sense’. They have taken control of their public space. The challenge to art then is how to respond to this environment. Working site specifically,considering issues and concerns relating to this place, making art that is very much rooted to its location, seem like a positive way to see how art can involve itself in this effort to generate social meaning and political participation in a meaningful way for the community.
Michelle
June 25, 2008 at 5:17 pm
[...] A few words on Public Art Posted in 1 by urbanwasanii on June 26th, 2008 As with any workshop with different artists from different backgrounds there is a spectrum of engagement with the issues surrounding public art. Below is an excerpt from Michelle Browne’s musings. Read the full comment here [...]
A few words on Public Art « urbanwasanii
June 26, 2008 at 11:35 am
I would love to use one of these pictures, the empty dress one, in a poetry project of mine. Who do I contact to get permission?
Julie Strand
Julie Strand
June 4, 2009 at 4:20 pm