Review of Socio-Political Art Objects I Observed on Exhibit While Riding My Bike to Work Today
The world is becoming an increasingly complicated place to live in, with an increasingly complex array of philosophies and points of view, all vying for our attention. As mainstream media co-ops the Internet and floods it with bland fare--no more interesting or daring than television or The Wall Street Journal--artists with serious political and social statements are quite literally taking to the streets, erecting works of art that are so audacious, so bold, they don't merely ask for our attention, they demand it.
As we, the complacent public, are confronted by these roadside exhibits--exhibits that are beautiful to be sure, but so much more--we cannot help but gasp at the elegance and ferocity of these works.
Today, as I rode my bike to work, I was time and time again bowled over by these artists' visions. I was compelled to stop and photograph some of the standout exhibits, which I shall now review.
"Brush," 2006
Here we see an ice scraper and snowbrush, of the variety commonly carried within automotive contrivances. But it is currently the hottest part of the year! And this brush is not in a car! The wintry symbol, overlaid by (and underscored with) a fallen twig, reminds us of both the past and the future. "It was once winter, and it shall be winter again," the artist seems to be telling us. "And when winter comes again, good luck using a credit card to scrape the frost off your windshield."
"Beverage I," 2006 (Cafe Rio)
Here we observe a polystyrene cup, carefully aligned in the gutterspace, so its contents will run downhill. But there are no contents! The cup is empty! The only moisture we see are a few stains of water surrounding the cup. Mocking it, as if to say that after all its efforts in containing and distributing refreshing Coca-Cola goodness, this was all it had to show. One can only imagine the pain the artist must live through to convey such a raw, unfiltered image of emptiness.
"Beverage II," 2006 (McDonalds)
Frankly, I don't recommend this artwork for young viewers, but the message the artist has to convey is urgent and practical, and must be told, sensitive sensibilities nothwithstanding. Here we have a McDonalds cup. Whereas the Cafe Rio cup was pointed downhill, distributing and sharing its contents, however, the McDondalds cup is in a position to collect new content. The way the artist has situated the cup--a vessel for holding water or other beverage--in a wet place shows the artist's contempt for corporate culture in general, and for McDonald's in particular.
Finally, note the vulgar way in which the straw penetrates the cup lid, sarcastically mocking the "I'm lovin' it" tagline on the cup, showing exactly the kind of "love" the artist sees in McDonald's. If there has ever been a more stinging indictment of McDonald's in modern art, I simply am not aware of it.
Author's Note: There were more beverage-related exhibits on my route to work than of any other kind. There are simply too many for them to be a series created by one artist, so I must believe they are individual works by individual artists. I believe we can safely say we are on the cusp of a birth of an entire new genre of art: the Medium of the Streetside Beverage Container. It's an exciting time to be an art critic.
"Caution," 2006
Here, we see a weathered street "Caution" sign exquisitely leaning against a telephone pole. The deliciousness of this piece stems from its multifaceted playfulness; it could mean any number of things. Shall we beware of telephone poles? Or is the telephone propping up this symbol of road construction as a metaphor for collusion and price-fixing among utilities? Or perhaps the telephone pole is nothing but a red herring; it is simply an object helping the caution sign stay on its feet to show that the caution sign must now warn passersby of itself? I do not know the answer, but I delight in the riddle.
"Handle," 2006
The fine-tuned rage of this artist is almost palpable. Here we have a splintered, broken tool of some sort. Was it a rake? Was it a shovel? Was it a hoe? We will never know, because its head has been removed; the worker has been decapitated, anonymized, and discarded. Note the barrenness of the surroundings, indicating that without the worker, there is no life. It's a chilling message, beautifully and angrily told.
"Pots," 2006
Here are some pots laying in the gutter. To be honest, I don't think these are an art exhibit at all. I just think they were blown into the gutter in yesterday's windstorm.
"Numbers," 2006
Whereas most artists focus their message on a single aspect of society, this artist chose to broaden his scope to the world as a whole, and humanity's part in it. He sums up the world by picking the numeral "388" (an even number between two prime numbers) to show the beauty and frailty of the natural world. Then he sarcastically shows what humanity has brought to this equation: "+00": nothing! Part of me regrets that our artists can become so jaded that they must react with these terrifyingly elegant works of savage beauty, but then I remember: I am part of the problem.
And then I weep.
"Permanent Geometry," 2006
As a cheerful reminder that not all of our streetside artists feel this jaded, cynical despair, consider this work. Made of lightweight styrofoam, it is easy to move around, and will be with us for the ages. What better affirmation of our confidence in humanity's permanence could there be? Concentric circles, equilateral triangles, and rectangles abound, confirming that when things get too difficult to fathom in modern society, one can always find solace in the permanence of the simple things in life.
"Compact Disc," 2006
I'm pretty sure that the primary message of this work of art is that it's no longer cool for me to listen to Howard Jones or Haircut 100.
Alas.
-Elden
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