Modern Circa Now – if you live in Chicago you’ve seen this all over the city since the opening of the new Modern Wing at the Art Institute downtown. The fantastic building houses incredible pieces from Modern Arts most important figures and does a fantastic job representing the art world today. This morning the building was targeted by members of H20 and MUL crews in Chicago for an (arguably) equally fantastic set of pieces to be displayed for the general public. As I write this it is being sandblasted off the wall, I might add at an incredibly slow pace, leaving just dark gray stains in place of the brilliant color that once was. This coming just over a week after H20 was featured in the Sun Times and Tribune for painting a house in the historic and very wealthy Gold Coast neighborhood, there is quite a stir in the air right now about what exactly is happening or going to happen, or just what this all means. A few of the most glaring points of discussion are obviously the chosen locations of the pieces. What does it mean when graffiti moves out of the ghetto and into a neighborhood where you can see a Picasso through a living room window? Even more so what does it mean to paint a building specifically built for housing similar Picasso’s and Pashke’s? There’s almost too much too discuss here. Look at the language used in the Tribune artical above. There is no hatred toward the writers as in the past, instead it is replaced with a generally confused voice that acknowledges the art but simply wishes it were elsewhere. Talking to people on the street this morning the general response to the Museum attack was acclaim – “this is beautiful” “why are they cleaning it and removing the color?”
Meanwhile, if we want to be respected as artists, we must respect other artists. This isn’t just another building, it’s a work of art in itself. This could be said theoretically about any building, but this new building in particular is an acclaimed piece by an architect known world wide (Renzo Piano). So then what does it mean to write “This is our Modern Art” on a Modern Art building housing thousands of pieces of “real” art? For one it helped me realize for the first time my responsibility as a writer who also practices art. It’s beyond the point of debate – graffiti will be discussed as a real movement of art for a long time coming. It’s things like this however that will help to push it out of the oldschool way of thinking and into the new school appreciation. Whether you like it or not this is a pivotal point in graffiti history.
This is the first piece of graffiti in a minute that has gotten me really excited. Not because it is particularly spectacular, but because of the buzz and conversation it sparked. Walking by it you can literally feel it in the air – it feels like it actually belongs and it hurts to see it being removed – not just by myself but everyone. In a city like Chicago, known for it’s (Daley’s) historic hatred of graffiti and the general public’s love of art, this is really groundbreaking. I can’t wait any longer for a statement from the museum regarding it and to see how they react – likewise the Architect, to know if he feels victimized.
In short, I think this group of hooligans deserves a round of applause. Not only for their daring, but for the discussion and excitement that their actions invoked. You can taste it in the air, and it tastes like sandblasting, but it’s gonna be an interesting year for Chicago graffiti. This truly is Modern Art Circa Now, and if you aren’t ready to understand it then get out of the way, cause now it’s coming to you wherever you may be.
