MAY DAY ART ALERT
On May Day, 2009, the cultural workers struck.
Banners were recently positioned at two of Hartford's most prominent (and some would say most controversial) works of art. The message reads:
"JOIN US IN CELEBRATING THE WORKERS WHO MADE + CARE FOR THIS ARTWORK"
It's deceptively simple, but pretty damn profound: artists should be celebrated, public art has to be maintained and protected by the community, and those care for the work are just as important to the entire artistic process.
The banners end with a smaller request:
"Please leave this alone. The crows are watching."
Markers are attached to the banner poles so people can leave comments.
The banners appear at Alexander Calder's Stegosaurus and Carl Andre's Stone Field Sculpture. A little of their history says a lot about Hartford.
Stone Field Sculpture
Love it or hate it, this installation of 36 boulders has generated a long debate on what should be considered art. Andre, a minimalist, was a railroad worker before becoming an artist. In the summer of 1977, his work raised great controversy.
The granite boulders stand near South Church, arranged in an increasing number that reminds some people of a giant's bowling alley.
At one point after the sculpture was finished, hundreds from the city's African American community marched through downtown to City Hall protesting the treatment of Edythe Gaines, the city's first African.American woman to serve as head of the Board of Education. On the way, a group from the march actually moved one of the boulders. (Doesn't that make it a new work of art?)
Stegosaurus
Alexander Calder's red-orange steel piece came into being in 1973. It sits between City hall and the Wadsworth Atheneum (insert dinosaur joke here).
My kids always loved it. The Stego's child has wandered away and can usually be found in Farmington on the grounds of the UConn John Dempsey Hospital (check it out).
What is Art?
Who knows. But maybe, just maybe there is some art that should not have the right to exist? How about the Samuel Stone statue that celebrates the man who, using his religious authority, presided over the execution of Hartford women as witches? And told a colonial military unit that God said it was okay to ambush Pequot women and children, burning them while they slept? Sam is located in the graveyard near Stone Field Sculpture.
On the other hand, it is clear that all art is not equal. You may remember Michael Borders' beautiful mural "Genesis of the Capital City" (left) which was torn down, despite widespread protests, to make way for commerical development including a McDonalds.
What do you think? The crows are listening.
