Essay

Module 5 Commentary: Place

Place: Audio Commentary

One of the most common ways for us to initiate conversation with a stranger is to ask, "Where are you from?" While presented as an innocent query, the question can, at the same time, be unsettling with regard to the responses it may elicit. To acknowledge where we are from—to ourselves and to others—is to declare allegiance to a place delineated not so much by lines on a map as by a complicated set of intricate networks that we have created for ourselves (RC:SP). To define where we are from requires most of us to navigate a complex web of geographical, ecological, cultural, historical, and social influences.

In the introduction to her book, The Lure of the Local, art critic Lucy Lippard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_R._Lippard) (1997) addresses the deep connections that we have to the idea of "place" and what she identifies as the longings we have to identify with the "resonance of a specific location that is known and familiar" (p. 7). She notes, however, that when asked, many of us in the contemporary world can't identify a particular "place" to which we belong and, in this, a sense of displacement frequently surfaces. Nevertheless, she notes, we are still drawn to the concept of place and the longing to belong somewhere. Lippard writes of this as the "lure of the local" and describes it as

[t]he intersections of nature, culture, history, and ideology [that] form the ground on which we stand— our land, our place, the local. The lure of the local is the pull of place that operates on each of us, exposing our politics and our spiritual legacies. It is the geographical component of the psychological need to belong somewhere, one antidote to a prevailing alienation. The lure of the local is that undertone to modern life that connects it to the past we know so little and the future we are aimlessly concocting. (p.7)

There is a strong contemporary interest in the concept of place and it is notable how this interest crosses

There is a strong contemporary interest in the concept of place and it is notable how this interest crosses boundaries of disciplinary study—anthropology, psychology, geography, philosophy, cultural studies, and art are just a few of the areas in which interest in the significance of place has emerged. For many researchers, the contemplation of “place” is also intertwined with the construction of knowledge and self- understanding. Orr (1992) writes that knowing a place—“where you are and where you come from—is intertwined with knowledge of who you are. Landscape, in other words, shapes mindscape” (p. 130). Similarly, Kent Ryden (1993) notes how a “[s]ense of place endures all vicissitudes (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vicissitudes) , then, sustaining identity, provid[es] connections to a personal and collective past, offering an emotional center. It is a rooted and anchored locus of meaning and value” (p. 95).

In introducing the topic of "place," in the assigned reading for this module, the authors of our text immediately connect notions of "place" with the previous theme of "identity." Robertson and McDaniel

write "[p]lace can be a central facet of someone's identity. The place or places where one has lived, with their attendant physical, historical, and cultural attributes, condition what one knows and how one sees" (p. 151). The reading for this module introduces us to the far ranging and varied work being done by contemporary artists as they explore or incorporate the concept of "place" in their work. We will find artists such as Paul Noble (http://www.gagosian.com/artists/paul-noble/) who creates elaborately detailed views of fictional architectural structures and Helen and Helmut Harrison (http://www.theharrisonstudio.net/)

who research scientific solutions to ecological problems around the world and then work to create community-based dialogues about how to restore these troubled environmental areas. We'll also learn about the unsettling video installations of Jim Campbell (http://www.jimcampbell.tv/) in which the artist challenges us to confront our own voyeurism. We'll encounter artists for whom the study of "place" is really an exploration of placelessness and dislocation. The artist Hew Locke (http://www.hewlocke.net/) , for example, whose work evokes haunting references to the African diaspora—the forced emigration of Africans to the Americas to serve as slaves. Or, the work of artist Hung Liu (http://www.kelliu.com/) , who was born in China but has lived and worked in the U.S. since 1984. Liu's art, like Locke's, also speaks to a kind of dislocation but from the perspective of self-exile. Liu uses her "personal history to make her art a haunting paradigm of women’s experience past and present" that examines the lingering feelings of ambivalence the artist feels for her homeland (Berger 2003). In the video here, Hung Liu discusses the process she uses to create a series of figurative works based upon vintage photographs from her homeland China.

KQED Spark - Hung Liu

The artist discusses the process behind her series of figurative works.

The five artists mentioned here represent just a small sampling of the rich and varied ways that contemporary artists explore the significance of "place"—how they have, in essence, responded to the intricate tangle of that concept. As you proceed through this module, take some moments, like the artists you will study, to reflect on how you will respond the next time someone asks you, "Where are you from?"

Special Focus: Newton and Helen Mayer Harrison

Featured Link: Newton and Helen Mayer Harrison — Ecoartists (http://www.theharrisonstudio.net/)

The Harrisons (as they are frequently known) have worked for more than 40 years to create art projects that seek to heal the earth and to find solutions to issues of ecological and biodiversity. Their projects have been involved in urban renewal, reclaiming and restoring watersheds, helping to change governmental policies, and helping to create "portable" agricultural farms. The couple's projects are always initiated by an invitation to consider a place or problem and will remain with a project only so long as the invitation is extended, or the Harrisons deem they have accomplished all they are able to address the particular situation.

The Harrison's website (http://www.theharrisonstudio.net/) notes that the couple's "concept of art embraces a breathtaking range of disciplines. They are historians, diplomats, ecologists, investigators, emissaries and art activists. Their work involves proposing solutions and involves not only public discussion but extensive mapping and documentation of these proposals in an art context."

In 2002, the Harrisons were invited to the Santa Fe Art Institute to conduct a workshop and to deliver a lecture. They found that many people in the area were dismayed by what they perceived as the destruction of the local river and, during the Harrison's workshop, invited the couple to help in the river's restoration. In the video below, the couple discusses their conceptual and working process for their environmental and ecological work Fahrenheit Rising: Adapting Ecologies in the Sierra Nevada.

Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison Present at the …

Helen and Helmut Harrison (2011)

Artist Profiles: Andrea Zittel and the Unilever Series (Tate Modern)

Following the discussion of each theme, the chapters in the Themes of Contemporary Art textbook include extended profiles of select artists whose work is discussed in the context of that particular theme. The profiles present discussion of the different ideas and approaches used by each artist. This section of each course module represents an online extension to the profiles provided in the textbook by presenting access to multimedia and external links that are relevant to each artist and which provide further illumination about his or her work.

Andrea Zittel

The Andrea Rosen Gallery represents artist Andrea Zittel and you can visit the gallery's website (http://www.andrearosengallery.com/artists/andrea-zittel) to view an extensive presentation of the artist's work. The gallery's biography of Zittel notes that over the past 25 years, the artist

has developed an unparalleled practice that encompasses spaces, objects and modes of living in an ongoing investigation into what it means to exist and participate in our culture today. While nurturing a symbiosis of formal abstraction and function, Zittel explores core questions of “How to live?” and “What gives life meaning?” through an examination of social norms, values, hierarchies, as well as the creation of new systems and structures for living. (Source: Andrea Rosen Gallery (http://www.andrearosengallery.com/artists/andrea-zittel) )

In 2004, artist and writer Cheryl Kaplan interviewed Zittel to discuss how the artist "learned to live with others by moving out." (Source: DB Artmag (http://db-artmag.de/archiv/2004/e/1/1/175.html) ) Kaplan's interview can be read online (http://db-artmag.de/archiv/2004/e/1/1/175.html) and, in it, readers will find Zittel discussing why she chose to live in the desert for an extended period and what she thinks about the limitations of privacy.

There are two videos included below, both of which are taken from the ART21 "Exclusive" series. The first video provides viewers with a brief introduction to the artist and a discussion of her ongoing work Wagon Station Encampment (begun in 2004). The second video features the artist discussing High Desert Test Sites, a non-profit organization that she co-founded. The organization supports immersive experiences and exchanges between artists, critical thinkers, and general audiences. You can learn more

experiences and exchanges between artists, critical thinkers, and general audiences. You can learn more about Zittel by visiting the ART21 Andrea Zittel webpage (https://art21.org/artist/andrea-zittel/) .

Andrea Zittel: "Wagon Station Encampment" | Art21 "Exten…

Artist Andrea Zittel discusses Wagon Station Encampment (ongoing)

Andrea Zittel: High Desert Test Sites | Art21 "Extended Play"

High Desert Test Sites, a non-profit organization co-founded by Andrea Zittel

Unilever Series at the Tate Modern

The Unilever Series at the Tate Modern is representative of the long- standing and "high-profile" commitments that the Unilever Corporation (http://www.unilever.co.uk/) has made to British cultural organizations. Focusing on the support and development of young talent, the annual commissions that are the heart of Unilever Series have resulted in "some fo the most innovative and significant sculptures of recent years." Over the past 9 years, the annual series has commissioned pieces from some of

past 9 years, the annual series has commissioned pieces from some of today's most exciting and influential artists including Rachel Whiteread (Embankment, 2005-06), Bruce Nauman (Raw Materials, 2004-05), Anish Kapoor (Marsyas, 2002-03, and Louise Bourgeois (I Do, I Undo, I Redo, 2000).

Visit the Unilever Series page (http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/unileverseries/) at the Tate Modern website to learn more about the different works that have resulted from this exciting annual series.

Commentary Sources

1. Berger, M. "Hung Liu: Biography." URL: http://www.michaelbergergallery.com/mobile/Artist- Info.cfm?ArtistsID=424 (http://www.michaelbergergallery.com/mobile/Artist-Info.cfm?ArtistsID=424) Accessed: 21 February 2017.

2. Harmanşah, Ö. 2009. "ARCH 2410: Archaeologies of Place." Course Syllabus/Website (Brown University). URL: https://brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/archaeologiesofplace/7002.html

(https://brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/archaeologiesofplace/7002.html) . Accessed: 21 February 2017.

3. Lippard, L. R. 1997. The Lure of the Local. (http://www.amazon.com/Lure-Local-Senses- Multicentered-Society/dp/1565842480) New York: W.W. Norton & Company. Accessed: 21 February 2017.

4. Orr, D. W. 1992. Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World (http://books.google.com/books? hl=en&lr=&id=iKJbrKO9TwgC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=ecological+literacy&ots=4xfZmFTBvh&sig=ZP65KvPeT meO3NZ9CQJ51qP-Ud4#PPA130,M1) . Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Accessed: 21 February 2017.

5. "Remixing Çatalhöyük: Senses of Place" (RC:SP). URL: http://cnx.org/content/m15216/latest/ (http://cnx.org/content/m15216/latest/) . Accessed: 21 February 2017.

6. Robertson, J & C. McDaniel. 2009. Themes of Contemporary Art. 2nd. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

7. Ryden, K. C. 1993. Mapping the Invisible Landscape: Folklore, Writing, and Sense of Place (http://books.google.com/books?id=a- Na8bpDxVsC&dq=%22mapping+the+invisible+landscape%22&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=J 1cySsSLOp_OMZbs8IIK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#PPP1,M1) . Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. Accessed: 21 February 2017.