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For full story and images, click on What About Beauty? Complete.
Sponsored by the University of Minnesota Department of Art
and the Visual Arts Committee of the Minneapolis Union
1997
The Project
What About Beauty? was a visiting artist/critic series at the University of Minnesota seeking to explore a new ideal of beauty and art in the Post Modern world, one leading towards a greater sense of community, respect for the environment, and spiritual renewal. In advance of making a presentation for What About Beauty?, I conducted an eight-month residency at the University. This residency was designed by a randomly generated team of University staff, faculty and students.
Inquiries
- I was curious about the creative rub between 1) the collective input of a randomly generated design team, and 2) the creative activities that satisfy me aesthetically as an individual artist.
- The design team was curious about what people make and why they make what they do.
The Challenges
This project was full of challenges, in the most delightful sense. The three primary challenges were the design process, implementing the residency, and synthesizing what took place into a coherent final presentation.
What I Learned
- I discovered the joy of handing myself over to the collective wisdom of a randomly selected batch of humans.
- I discovered I can make things happen, out of the raw material of human engagement, that are aesthetically satisfying to me.
- I was humbled to realize how much I have yet to learn about clearly articulating the values and intention behind my work.
- The design team process reminded those of us involved that we are often capable of more than we believe.
- This project gave me a new reason for presenting finished pieces of art in connection with my community work: to provide a forum for public accountability. What About Beauty? is an example of how a performance can serve as an innovative approach to evaluation.
Resolution
I resolved to take more responsibility for speaking and writing clearly about my work.
