Profiles of Contemporary Art and - ARTisSpectrum

Portland Art Museum presents Mole Flanders, a project by Jen Kovach, Coral Short and Helen Reed providing hundreds of hairy and non-hairy moles
to visitors within the European Galleries. Photo by Jason Kaplin.
For some years it has been commented that Social Practice art has been suffering from identity stress. What is Social Practice
art exactly? Who sets its parameters? The Artists? The Institutions? The Audience? This much is absolute: Social Practice
art is a medium in which artists are able to socially engage their community, while pushing the limitations of traditional art theory.
To place Social Practice art within the confines of a blanketed description in order to make it easier to digest for the art world
has been the subject of great debate within the practice. In the spectrum of Social Practice art, definitions are loose and are
changing the ever evolving dichotomy between the artist and the audience. In Social Practice art, significance is found in social
interaction, and artworks are generally coined as ‘art projects,’ boundaries are redefined in the social dialogue and context of
each Social Practice art project. Stretching limitations of imagination and participation, Social Practice art intends to nurture an
intimate relationship between the artist and the onlooker in the most direct of ways.
While Social Practice art is difficult to pin down to any certain terms, its presence is infiltrating the modern art world at a growing
pace. In an era of constant status updates, established art institutions can no longer sit passively by; in order to stay relevant,
they must become more accessible 1 . The rising generation no longer seeks a submissive role as an audience member, but
wants instead to explore the intrinsic value of art. In an effort to stay fresh to a generation that requires constant stimulation,
museum visitor program directors are scheduling more inter-relative, socially engaged artwork 2 . Two museum institutions that
have quickly jumped on board with the promotion of visitor engagement through Social Practice art are the Hammer Museum
(Los Angeles, CA) and Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR).
1
Yank, Sue Bell. “Sue Bell Yank: How Art Museums Are Striving to Stay Relevant for a New Generation.” Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington
Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2011.
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2
Ragsdale, Diane E.. “Recreating Fine Arts Institutions.” Stanford Social Innovation Review Fall (2009): 36-41. Print.
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