www.artsy.net: It’s 2011 and Kenneth Tam is standing in a dingy Los Angeles apartment having a conversation with a man in a cardboard box. “Your body is not bad,” says the box-man, an aspiring photographer the artist had met via the “Casual Encounters” section of Craigslist. “And yet you’re a little guarded. I still want you to be able to get into a situation where you’re in a room with another naked man, and see how comfortable you would be allowing them to touch you.” Things don’t go exactly that far, but in the end, Tam has acquiesced to stripping out of his jeans and underwear and allowing this stranger to slowly, almost tenderly peruse his rear.
3 comments:
I had two very different primary thoughts while reading this article. First, I would be interested to see what the gender breakdown is amongst artists using Craigslist for projects. While the author has a few examples of female artists using the site, it’s very hard for me to imagine many female artists meeting strangers this way. It feels deeply, deeply unsafe.
Second, it seems questionable that any artists would use imagery or the voice of an unknowning participant in an art installation or project without that person’s permission. Sophie Barbasch’s project “Goodnight Call” seems exploitive. Nothing in post suggests the participant’s voice will be used for a project. They didn’t know what they were signing up for. There’s something about what she’s asking them to do that is intimate. It’s possible, strange as participating in something like that may be, that those strangers felt like they were giving the poster something meaningful and private, but instead she’s using them for a public project.
Reading this article, there were multiple spots that irked me. A man eagerly undressing himself in front of a camera, 'seeking large man who has cremated his mother, paid gig', filming a couple's casual dinner, 'finding someone willing to turn over his or her private phone (with a few years’ worth of photos and videos) for $1,000' and 'reglazing a $20 vessel and selling it for a few thousand—I thought that was incredibly funny and exciting'. Each of these quotes irks me with different reasons, that will make me sound like an overly nervous mother. To pick one of many, some of the art projects violates privacy and makes me wonder whether the participants were aware of the details. Or even, do the artists know that they better prepare a form of contract and let the participants know of it? When there are so many different ways the projects could have gone wrong, it could be the best way to protect the artist from possible lawsuits and legalities. Of course people can argue that there would be no art if there weren't bold artists, but I am seriously concerned about both the artists and the participants.
What an imaginative use of a bottomless well of eccentricity. I feel like over the years Craigslist has become this very sketch non-trustworthy site with fishing or spam mails and deceptive posts and just plain bad experience to the point where fewer and fewer people would use it or even when they do, they throw a good ton of salt. But the way artists use Craigslist to create art project is pretty refreshing and I think it actually gives this website a little more life.
I do have concerns about that good night project where the artist does not disclose that this is for a project and she would use their voicemails. I don’t know if it breaches any privacy or confidentiality code but it sounds not okay. It’s understandable to keep at a certain distance and to keep the participants in a certain state of ignorance of what the purpose really is but I think if you want to use the results you need to notify them and ask for permission.
Post a Comment