Urgent Moments- Contributed two texts to edited book
History
Research statement
Background
Two previously published texts on public art, social engagement and participation were selected for inclusion in the book Urgent Moments which captured the evolution of socially-engaged temporary public art in New Zealand in the decade from 2010-20. Both texts sought to locate how contemporary artists locally and internationally were seeking to utilise performative and installation practices to build new encounters with the public. Consisting of critical reflections on the work of Tao Wells and Kim Paton, this scholarship interrogated the social turn in art in the early 21st century
Contribution
Selected for inclusion by the editors, both texts were originally published in the online art journal Eye Contact edited by noted New Zealand artist, curator and scholar John Hurrell. The texts were among the first to interpret and critically locate the Letting space commissions of Kim Paton and Tao Wells examining how both artists carefully manipulated specific media framing to draw audiences to the work. Locating the artworks as emblematic of a new dynamic engagement with the public based in part on transgression, provocation and political activism, the texts together capture and locate an important zeitgesit shift in art making in New Zealand and beyond.
Significance
While more than a decade old in their original published form, the selection of both texts for a 2023 scholarly publication points to their standing and importance as critical markers of the meaning and value of both artworks in New Zealand art history. The editors are all leading figures in New Zealand art including noted critic, broadcaster and curator Mark Amery and scholar and local government culture expert Sophie Jerram. Massey University Press is a leading academic press in Australasia with a rigorous peer review process for book selection/publication. The foreword for the book was written by leading international art scholar and author Chris Krauss.