The project is an Artwork-in-Residence, a play on the familiar “artist-in-residence.” Grants of $1,200 each will be given to 10 applicants for proposals to use the text in performances, classroom experiences or other creative ways.
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Removed Billboard Message Becomes New Public-Art Initiative
The project is an Artwork-in-Residence, a play on the familiar “artist-in-residence.” Grants of $1,200 each will be given to 10 applicants for proposals to use the text in performances, classroom experiences or other creative ways.
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I have seen the phrase “there are black people in the future” a few times in the past year, mainly on social media so reading that the origin story has to do with representation in science fiction was interesting. The story about the billboard being taken down adds another level of depth to the narrative, and I appreciate the way the community is embracing the fact that this work was torn down and giving it new life through the Artwork-in-Residence project.
It took me a second to process that this was all taking place in Pittsburgh, but what’s even more interesting to me is the timing, because I was just having a conversation with Rosie yesterday about her Playground piece, which carries a lot of the same themes as the Artwork-in-Residence project, namely the gentrification of areas in Pittsburgh. The fact that those themes are being spoken about more openly and more often is a step in the right direction, and the involvement of Carnegie Mellon students and staff in that conversation makes me realize how close to home this actually is.
I think the fact that community response labelled this phrase “provocative” and “causing discomfort” is ridiculous and I’m glad this initiative came into being to promote art that investigates that discomfort. The statement itself has been spread somewhat widely on social media, so it was interesting to hear the origin and to discover that it occurred right here in Pittsburgh. The statement itself, in much the same way as “black lives matter”, does two things- points out a fact that seems obvious to demonstrate how not-obvious it really is in society, and provokes a negative response from people who disagree with the statement’s essential premise, even if they don’t realize that that is the position they are taking. The fact that this phrase causes discomfort isn’t a good thing, because it points to ingrained societal racism, but I agree with the public art initiative to keep it going and to investigate that discomfort further.
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