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| WANTED December 2009, in conjunction with Southern Exposure's Passive / Aggressive public intervention exhibition Juried by Jeannene Przyblyski Throughout the city WANTED posters have appeared in the search for a young artist named S.R. Kucharski. This artist is wanted for all types of trespasses: visual terrorism, image propaganda, bribing curators and gallery owners to further his career, as well as for inviting passersby to enter their own imagined description of what this artist has done. It is also requested that any sightings of this artist be reported to a listed toll-free number. The posters ask what one person could be truly wanted for, and also ask the public to participate and conspire to catch one single individual. This project dares to ask, "What makes an artist (or any individual) famous?" Is it his trespasses against what is considered Art, and therefore expected of from art makers? Is it being “criminal” against the art establishment, against society? If you are a graffiti artist, for example, are you trespassing with illegal image making activities (society), or are you trespassing for making unaccepted imagery (ideas of non-art)? Is being famous dependent on someone else, in this case the idea of arts administrators pushing the artist into public consciousness, or is just simply enough to plaster images of a person and an idea into the public for mass consumption, aggressively forcing a popularity upon the artist? The project sets up contradictions, as well as dilemmas: in the case of S.R. Kucharski, he is both wanted in a negative way for disturbing the arts establishment and precisely for this disturbance, because he is causing trouble (or the idea of it), and everyone likes a good show. People like a bad boy, now and then. He is concurrently wanted for serious crimes and then the most ridiculous things, for example: visual terrorism and forgetfulness combined. And, what is visual terrorism? Could it be printing a poster, and of himself of all things, and then posting this image all over one city in the name of art? This project also touches on our interpretations of an individual simply by his appearance: in the case of S.R. Kucharski, his picture relates more to a mug shot or police file than to a press photo. If someone fits a visual profile for criminality, would you have the ability to not consider him dangerous? Do you passively walk-on-by this warning in poster form, or do you aggressively involve yourself within the capture? |
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