MAKING A CASE: A PROJECT IN CONTEXT(S)

MAKING A CASE: A PROJECT IN CONTEXT(S)

Choose one specific socially-engaged art/design project from the list below that relates to your personal interests. Then, after researching the project as thoroughly as possible, ask yourself, “do I believe this work is worth telling other people about? Why or why not? Does it make a significant cultural contribution in the world today, and if so, to what or for whom?” Based on what you believe is the quality of experience it produces for its participants, formulate a specific argument for how it is (or is not) meaningful and valuable today. To what degree does this project inspire new forms of knowledge or social transformation?

Choose a work that you can enthusiastically support and write an essay arguing why it is successful—your goal is to persuade others about why it merits our collective attention. Or, instead, choose one project you believe has somehow failed, and make an argument for why we should scrutinize it in order to expose its inherent weaknesses so that future artists/designers don’t make similar mistakes. To create either of these arguments–or to craft some combination of the two–you will need to think hard about the project in relation to various contexts. These contexts include: the problems/opportunities it aims to illuminate; the fields of knowledge its research process must access; its modes of community engagement and economic/institutional structures; its relationship to the history of contemporary art and/or social justice movements; and its relevance to your personal taste, interests and creative practices.

STRUCTURING THE ARGUMENT:

Title your essay (the title should act as a “hook” to capture your reader’s attention and reflect your thesis argument in some way)

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Introduction: Describe the project, and the kinds of problematic need(s) or opportunit(ies) it attempts to address. Do you think it succeeds or fails—and how? What is most exciting/ innovative–or disappointing–about it? Be sure to clearly state your thesis argument about your opinion of this project’s cultural value, or state the specific question you plan to explore in your essay.

Process: Speculate on the research process, type of community engagement, and economic/institutional structures that were necessary to realize this project. What kinds of knowledge would be required to make this work? (e.g., particular kinds of disciplinary or multi-disciplinary knowledge? A historical understanding about the site or community—and if so, what was that? A special type of craftsmanship or fabrication technique?, etc). From whom or where would the artist have located that information or those skills? Did they work independently or did they form actual collaborative partnerships in the process of conducting their research and creating the project? Was the project truly dialogic—i.e., did everyone involved have an opportunity to listen and learn from one another’s contribution? Was the project commissioned, and if so, where did the funding come from, and how might that influence your assessment of the work?

Historical/theoretical context: How does this project fit within a broader scope of contemporary art history? (Here consider making a comparison to other relevant contemporary socially-engaged projects we have studied.) Which specific social or environmental justice movements might it be in dialogue with—and does it contribute anything new to that conversation? Are there any theoretical ideas that we have studied so far (e.g., re-framing, radical pedagogy, hacktivism, Arnstein’s ladder of participation, etc.) that this project helps to illuminate? Does it contribute to the field of socially-engaged practice in provocative ways, and if so, how would you describe its cultural contribution?

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Personal context: why is the project of personal interest to you in your own field/practice? Does it inspire you to change your mind about an issue or your practice?

Conclusion: summarize your argument or suggest what questions remain for you.

Include all citations as well as a full bibliography (*PLEASE NOTE: bibliography should include at least 3 web sources, at least 2 scholarly books or journal articles, and additional related videos if they are available online—most of these projects are accessible on video).

Proofread carefully and read your essay out loud to catch syntax problems.

CHOOSING MY PROJECT:

FASHION:

Stephanie Syjuco, “Counterfeit Crochet”: https://www.counterfeitcrochet.org (Links to an external site.)
Cat Mazza, “MicroRevolt”: https://www.microrevolt.org (Links to an external site.)
Laura Sansone, “Mobile Textile Lab”: https://vimeo.com/66517905 (Links to an external site.) (her show with “Green Eileen” is up right now in the Sheila Johnson Aronson Gallery at 66 Fifth Ave, see: https://www.newschool.edu/parsons/currentExhibitions.aspx?id=107634 (Links to an external site.)
Ethical Metalsmiths, “Radical Jewelry Make-over”: https://www.ethicalmetalsmiths.org/projects/rjm-online-exhibitions-and-about/ (Links to an external site.)