Capitalism Works for Me! (True/False) by Steve Lambert. Photo rendering courtesy of the French Institute Alliance Française
UPDATE AND REFLECTION
September marked the beginning of a new school year and new arts season, a time when we revisit so many of our program priorities. This fall is also election season in New York City, especially significant as we elect our first new mayor in 12 years. While the current administration has championed the improvement and expansion of public space and public art, we cannot take for granted that the next administration will be such ardent supporters and carry through the same practices. Time Square is a central New York City public space—a twenty-four hour gathering place for protests, weddings, tourism, traffic . . . not to mention generating ten percent of the city’s economic impact. This October, we are also hosting the Crossing the Line Festival, Performa 13 (performance art biennial), International Downtown Association World Congress, and AIGA and the Open House New York annual weekend festival. Our fall programming reaches an odd cross-section of fine art, international urban sector and arts participants, showcasing architecture and design initiatives amidst an underlying political context. The recent wins listed below explore three ways that we have incorporated core values of our program: collaboration, conversation, and controversy.
RECENT WINS
CAPITALISM WORKS FOR ME? – TRUE/FALSE
We were excited to bring Steve Lambert’s 21-foot neon Capitalism sign to its ideal home in Times Square September 20 and October 6-9 As part of the Crossing the Line festival. In this interactive exhibit, visitors queue at the large neon sign to vote whether Capitalism works for them—if it has positively impacted their life. After voting, people explained their answer to the artist on video. These answers were then posted online, which created a rich fabric of qualitative responses to the quantitative polling numbers. While the artist has tested this work in smaller towns across the U.S., the placement in Times Square delivers a rich context for engaging with and understanding capitalism at work. Its location in Times Square raised the visibility of the dialogue, the quantity of respondents, the backdrop of economic success, as well as the importance of the question itself.
DOES CAPITALISM WORK? A CONVERSATION
In addition to the work in Times Square, there was a talk between artist Steve Lambert, economic theorist Richard Wolff and psychologist Harriert Fraad hosted at the AMC Empire 25 Movie Theater, 234 West 42nd Street, on October 2. Steve Lambert, economic theorist Richard Wolff, and psychologist Harriert Fraad discussed the question, ‘Does Capitalism Work?’ with support from A Blade of Grass, a non-profit organization that nurtures socially engaged art. AMC Empire 25 located on 42nd Street is the country’s most popular movie theater in the world’s number one tourist destination. The setting for the academic discussion, taking place in one of our most commercial venues and made possible with the support of non-profit and for-profit collaborators, set an interesting context for a conversation on capitalism.
1st Amendment (Excerpts), Andrew Sloat. Photo courtesy of Sloat.
MIDNIGHT MOMENT – 1st AMENDMENT (EXCERPTS)
In partnership with AIGA/NY, we launched a competition for the October Midnight Moment, the largest coordinated artist-video effort in the world that runs every night of the year from 11:57pm to midnight. We wanted to give graphic designers the opportunity to be freed from commercial constraints and create a work as artists. Andrew Sloat’s work was selected for its content, approach and contrast to stereotypes of what a leading graphic designer would create. The 3-minute film is made up of excerpts from the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment and, using analogue techniques, Sloat focuses on key compositional elements of Times Square: color, words and movement.
INSIGHT PROVOCATION
Capitalism Works for Me – True or False would not be nearly as effective if it were merely a sign with no activation. The invitation to consider, vote, explain, and explore choices makes the project as dynamic as Times Square itself. Similarly, Midnight Moment: First Amendment (Excerpts) uses a creative process to remind people of their constitutional rights. These works do not require the audience to be impacted in a particular way to be successful– they prompt thought, curiosity and potentially action. Our town square is like no other place. We host more daily visitors than any other site in the country. We have more illuminated brands glowing on signs twenty-four hours a day; we house major financial, real estate and retail development. We are home to The New York Times and Town Hall, a natural gathering place at moments of cultural celebration and demonstration. It seems most appropriate to bring artist-led projects to a place where free speech and commerce co-exist, on display for all to see at the Crossroads of the World.