No One Is Watching
To me, few spaces embody the concept of gatekeeping and false narratives of inclusion better than the art gallery. No One Is Watching is a remix of the traditional gallery space at the intersection of engagement, impulse, and Broken Windows Theory. What if there is no gatekeeper? no red tape? no threat of violence? Can we potentially learn more about the frustrations in our communities by prioritizing community voices over institutional grander?
Exhibition Wall Text
“The art gallery is a physical or digital space designed to exhibit works of art for both private and/or public viewership. It is relatively understood that the art gallery provides a specific type of attention for the works of art being displayed, a kind of importance outside the material, aesthetic and intellectual qualities of the work itself.
The art gallery gives the artwork additional value, power, and “social status.” The often reverent environment (or wall text, signs, security, tape) instruct the viewer to respect the artwork and the space surrounding it. The art gallery provides a platform for the work, a stage to perform on, and an (invisible or literal) barrier that separates the viewer from the artwork.
What happens if the barrier is lifted? What happens if the viewer is indifferent to the established rules of the art gallery?
What happens if there is no context for the art beyond the viewers personal perception? What happens if there is no security, no signs, and no red tape? What happens if no one is watching?”
The above images begin with the gallery as it appeared just after the work was installed. Move through the images to see changes made by visitors over the course of the exhibition.
The work at the onset of the show is a mixture of found objects some of my own studio projects.
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