Or Does it Explode

source: theartblog

He’d done a work for Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program. Dread Scott and Mural Arts? Scott describes himself as making revolutionary art to propel history forward.

His work has been discussed in books with titles such as Arresting Images: Impolitic Art and Uncivil Actions and Transgressions: The Offences of Art, which says something about its reception. Did Mural Arts really invite him to Philadelphia to create something other than a mural? Well, you wouldn’t know it from their website, but the piece is well-documented on Scott’s website, with documentation of the process and film interviews with the participants.

The project was part of Artworks!, a program of after-school workshops that Mural Arts runs in partnership with the Department of Human Services and involved Scott working with fourteen high school students during the summer of 2008. Scott said he learned from the students, and they learned from him. He had happy relations with Mural Arts despite the fact that he had to strike out a clause in the original contract that would have allowed the program to change the art if it provoked community outrage. He also negotiated the obvious difference in values, that the program’s priority was clearly pedagogy while his was to make art.

Dread Scott night view of ‘…Or Does it Explode?’ 2009
The piece was sited in May 2009 on the periphery of Logan Square and directly across the street from Family Court (a twin of the Free Library, one block to its East); the court’s juvenile division hears delinquency cases involving youth charged with misdemeanors or felonies. Approached from the side Scott’s installation might have been a series of solar panels mysteriously sited in the grass. But at closer range the dozen metal boxes clearly recall the rows of coffins laid out after a disaster. As I drew right up to them I could see the glossy, full-color and life-sized photographic portraits of urban youth, each in a box. One looked thoughtful, another self-confident, others seemed confused or wary.

‘Tyshayana,’ detail from ‘…Or Does it Explode ?’
Then I heard voices near several boxes. Bending over to hear them over the din of the Vine Street Expressway I listened to the pictured teenagers tell of their neighborhoods and families; their incarcerated friends; of not fitting in and police who assume any black person on a street corner is dealing; of learning that art didn’t have to be painting; and of their aspirations: to go to college, to better themselves; several even wanted to be artists. Experiencing the piece made me stop and spend time listening to a group that normally feels neglected and ignored. The only other reason these students might be in this neighborhood is to appear before the court – as accused or as victims. They are the future of Philadelphia and they deserve to be heard. The message may be obvious, but it’s worth repeating.

The title of the piece, …Or does it explode? is taken from the last line of Langston Hughes’ poem Harlem which begins What happens to a dream deferred. The work was always intended to be out of doors for a finite time; the photographs weren’t made for that much sun. But the date has been extended to some time in November.

It’s a credit to Scott, his students and Mural Arts that the piece succeeds so well as art, and that anyone seeing it will care that these students’ dreams not be defered. It’s a credit to Mural Arts that they were willing to move beyond feel-good neighborhood murals and sponsor a piece that delivers a challenge rather than simple reassurance to its viewers. It’s also wonderful to see them taking chances with artists such as Scott.
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source: dreadscottnet

…Or Does it Explode?, is a public art project that was originally installed in Philadelphia. It features 12 life-sized photographic portraits of Philadelphia inner-city teenagers in illuminated light boxes laid on the ground, coffin like. The vibrant photographs are brought to life by audio of voices of the adolescents articulating their hopes and dreams living in a society that often silences their aspirations and lives.

There has been significant media coverage of …Or Does it Explode? Links to a selection of the articles are below.

Scott said he wanted the art to provoke thought about the American Dream as well. “There are all these people that are promised ‘look, you can do anything; if you work hard, you can succeed’ – but for millions of kids, all society can offer is a life of crime.” — St. John Barned-Smith, Philadelphia Inquirer

Experiencing the piece made me stop and spend time listening to a group that normally feels neglected and ignored. The only other reason these students might be in this neighborhood is to appear before the court – as accused or as victims. They are the future of Philadelphia and they deserve to be heard. The message may be obvious, but it’s worth repeating. — Andrea Kirsh, TheArtBlog

When an artist decides to confront complex social issues and express them publicly using a visual platform, we can’t help but be pushed out of our comfort zones and face the troubling aspects of our society, which we inadvertently shelve away from our lives. — Baldev Duggal, Digital Photo Pro

Each box is wired with audio that allows visitors to listen as the young people, who range in age from 14 to 19, discuss their goals and the various obstacles—including sudden, violent death—that might make reaching them impossible. — F.H. Rubino, Philadelphia Weekly

This work does focus on a very sharp divide in this society and depicts people this system has written off. And it is unusual for a public project in that it doesn’t depict them in an idealized way—book in hand, reaching for the stars, or becoming a doctor or lawyer. The piece is quite beautiful, but it should make viewers a bit uncomfortable. — Dread Scott interview, BOMB Magazine Blog