Arts pick
Published by Becky S April 27th, 2004 in art reviews
In celebration of the spring weather, today’s arts pick is an outdoor installation. One’s natural tendency is to decipher the image being presented. Do the bold, yellow strokes represent an abstract piece, or is there some underlying symbolism (perhaps the artist’s initials)?
This question is irrelevant. Far more important are the placement of the painting and its medium, both of which illustrate the eternal role of art in the human experience. The work is cleverly placed close to the rim of the water fountain, ensuring that it cannot be seen unless someone approaches for a drink. Because this fountain is located in a recreational area full of joggers and bikers, many people arrive and lower their heads to the source of replenishment, only to be shocked by the yellow scrawl. And it’s this encounter that the artist is seeking—a way to link his painting with the most basic of needs.
The theme of art as necessity is also reinforced by the medium. Long after the water has disappeared down the drain, the yellow enamel remains, a reminder that physicial nourishment is fleeting and must be accompanied by nourishment of the spirit.
This piece is on display near the Kelly Drive grandstand (Philadelphia).
UPDATE: More here.
No Tags
Thanks for bringing yet another unheralded urban gem to my attention. This piece evokes so much more for me. First, considering it is a signed receptacle of water with a drain, it may be a homage to Marcel Duchamp’s urinal (Oh knowledgeable blog mistress, please find a photo of the infamous urinal, 1917, and paste in—I’d be happy to discuss with any of your readers how important this piece is in the history of art—or perhaps you will find it worthy of discussion yourself). That of course leads me to another association of the amber hue the artist has evoked (perhaps just an incising of metal, or is this actually paint)? The savvy reader should be able to connect those previous too sentences without forcing me to be explicit. And if the in-situ viewer makes such an association, will they feel debased? Unable to replenish their spirit? Perhaps it is I who am debased. I suppose I should have started with some high-brow hieroglyphic interpretation. Too late, I am found out, like Nabokov with Lolita.
mostly that makes me want to yak. No comma for the short introductory mostly.
I’m being american today.