Page 28 - Studio International - July August 1972

them in another. Other artists who are neighbourhood turned out for the occasion, for the show has been overlooked. The idea of
interested in more temporal projects and singing, dancing, having a good time. It lit the presenting art made for a specific urban space,
experiences use bulldozers, cranes and entire corner. a test and experiment in public, it's all taken
earthmovers to realize these. `But leaders at the Inner City Youth League second place".
`Many of these temporal works are not across the street from the work had talked to the `But art is not always about what artists want
limited to conventional art media and their forms Model Cities office and denounced the sculpture it to be about. The show did, indeed, change
derive largely from the qualities of the space in as "irrelevant to the black community". Model course, but in doing so it raised strong and
which they are experienced. Natural elements Cities requested its removal on those grounds immediate questions about art today. By being
(earth, grass, brush, rock, timber) and man-made and it was, the second day of the show, never to public, it forced public participation and
materials (concrete, asphalt, Plexiglas) are used be seen again!' exposed not only the fear and concern of society
in various combinations. The large-scale `There was more to come. The final blow fell but the eery workings of the political
projects done for the Minnesota State Arts a week later. Richard Treiber's peaceful pile of mechanism and the boiling frustrations of the
Council exhibition share most of the above brush, a natural re-creation of the State Capitol, general public. What has been art to museum
characteristics.' (From 'A New Idiom of Public was on the Court of Honour across from the goers (a relatively small elite) became to the
Art', by Richard Koshalek, in the catalogue of the Capitol, right where officials had told him to public such things as insults, irrelevancies, fire
`9 Artists/9 Spaces' exhibition.) build it. But one legislator, sensing political hay, hazards, anti-people, bomb threats and
called it an insult to the war dead the court was insidious threats to security.
' "It will be a risky show", said Richard built to honour, and demanded the return of all `This raises grave doubts about the museum's
Koshalek, the project director, the day before state monies used in the exhibition. The St Paul role. Have they been exposing the public to art
the opening. "It's the kind of show museums fire marshals showed up two weeks later and or have they been hiding it from the public ?'
have not done but arts councils can and should declared the sculpture a fire hazard, even (From '9 Artists/9 Spaces' by Mike Steele, in
do. We wanted to emphasize experiment and though there were no other buildings within the catalogue of the exhibition of the same
research and right now we have no idea if the hundreds of feet. It was removed for good on name.)
individual pieces will work or not". The night September 17.
of the opening, the Escher neon work was "I'm disappointed" said Koshalek during Hanover 197o-73
turned on, all 200 pounds of it, and the the last few days of the show, "that the concept Not all artists but more from year to year, are
asking the cities to offer them canvas, to become
places where artists and citizens can meet,
where art is integrated as an inseparable part of
the city scene....
On 27 May 1970 the city council made the
following resolution : 'The Council of the City of
Hanover will institute from the 1st September
1970 until the 31st August 1973 an experimental
programme of street-art for all branches of the
plastic and graphic arts. The intention will be to
alter and increase the feeling of life in a limited
area of the city by means of an intensive
introduction of works of art and artistic events
in the open streets. It is further to be established
with the completion of the programme whether
the citizens and visitors, the majority of whom
have only a limited acquaintance with modern
art, wish to approve or reject the lasting
inclusion of works of art and artistic events in
the city at large as an added dimension of life.

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