Events
October 21, 2010
Flux brings art in the moment
Did you notice the black vinyl letters, a narrative, that appeared on the southeast wall of Cox Hall’s outdoor dining area this month?
The text at Cox Hall is part of “Momentary Performances,” a city-wide public art performance project sponsored by Flux Projects, a nonprofit that supports artists in creating innovative temporary public art throughout Atlanta.
North Carolina-based artist Lee Walton is the project’s creator. Through the use of vinyl text installed in public space, the goal is to formalize everyday actions giving them, a new life and blurring the line between real-life and theater.
Emory is one of eight different Atlanta locations hosting Momentary Performances this month. Anne Dennington, executive director of Flux Projects and a graduate of Emory College, selected the University as one of the sites because of the campus’ high visibility and student participation. Plus, she said, she couldn’t resist the opportunity to bring public art to her alma mater.
Moving out of the traditional
“We facilitate new platforms for artistic experimentation that engage a broad audience in their daily lives, beyond the walls of traditional arts venues,” says Dennington. “We challenge artists to make exceptional, surprising work that inspires Atlanta and fosters an awareness of the richness and diversity of the city’s creative culture.”
While the text at Cox Hall has remained the same, the actors have changed from week to week, as have the ways that the text is interpreted. The audience for the performances has also changed each week, with an increasing number of intentional observers added to those who just happen to be nearby at the designated time.
“This project has garnered a lot of excitement about the possibilities for public art at Emory, inspiring conversations about work that goes beyond the traditional object-oriented approach to public art,” says David Schuster, a radiologist in the School of Medicine and co-chair of Emory’s Public Art Committee, which served as the campus facilitator of Momentary Performances.
“I think that the success of this collaboration with Flux Projects can lead to an increase in both temporary and permanent public art installations across campus, as more and more people come to understand—and expect—that art can play an important role in our daily lives, in how we perceive our environment.”
The final Emory installment of Momentary Performances will be Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 1:40 p.m., in the Cox Hall outdoor dining area.
Go here for more information.
