DOI Heft:
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DOI Artikel:Rattray, Michael: Something about a face: itinerant post-spectacle practices and the work of Graham Landin
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31178#0075
ŠTÚDIE / ARTICLES
ARS 43, 2010, 1
Something about a Face: Itinérant Post-Spectacle
Practices and the Work of Graham Landin
Michael RATTRAY
"TA rAÁWí? %-A'A^oív /A
A?
Introduction
On a given Saturday night in 2008 — 2009 on
Saint-Laurent Boulevard, in the Plateau area of
Montréal, a passerby and a colleague or two will
stop and examine a piece of détritus left out for the
myriád of garbage disposai means within the city. In
this instance a stack of old cathode ray télévisions,
one of which is painted bright orange, are each
adorned with what had now become a familiar sight
within the local area. A three eyed vinyl adhesive
face is applied to the top of the stacked télévisions
and, as is usually the case, one of the passerby's has
paused for a photo with it [Fig. 1]. For the majority
of 2008 and 2009, the Plateau, a geographical area
within Montréal, Québec, was used as the means to
promote a friendly and participatory art practice that
is difhcult to classify, yet immensely populär.
The pièces, created and posted by local artist
Graham Landin (b. 1982), are an example of a
new development that demonstrates an itinérant
post-spectacle practice activated through urban
public sphere(s). The works in question appropri-
ate everyday éléments and architecture of urban
public sphere(s) to effectuate their dissémination
and understanding. The materials used by the art-
ist are large sheets of vinyl adhesive, eut to shape,
which are then placed within spaces in and around
' DEBORD, G.: TA A tA Detroit 1983,
p. 220.
the city that suit the desired aesthetic [Figs. 1-10].
Given the mass-produced origin of the material,
the pièces specify that the practice is one that can
be accomplished quickly, at relative expense, and
can be activated anywhere. The tools of the artist
are as readily available as a pair of scissors and a
ruler. Exclusively, the vinyl shapes are eut into an-
thropomorphic characteristics: noses, eyes, a mouth,
perhaps some tears and cheekbones, occasionally a
beard. These éléments are then spatially arranged
and adhered to a public wall, a private entrance way,
a water pump shed, a public monument, Windows,
doors, basically anything the artist deems relatable
to the characteristics of a human face. The gloss of
the adhered vinyl has a propensity to make the pièces
pop out from their architectural backings, creating
a space where the dimensions of the site conform
and complété the desired aesthetic effect in a com-
plimentary and reciprocal manner.
Landin comments that the works are "AA AA-
AG A;# /%wA? A /A 0^ AfpAčAyg /A Ap* o/' /A
'r They are pièces designed with an express
intent of aestheticizing the urban space, while also
communicating the wink of play associated with
current Contemporary art practices. Landin adds the
works are created to remind people that life can be
imaginative, that there are members of the populace
out doing and making things which endeavor to pro-
mote positive values and happiness into a culture that
is consistently beaten down by media scare tactics,
credit debt, war; what Naomi Kline terms 'TA j*A<A
^ The author's interview with G. LANDIN, November 24,
2008.
69
ARS 43, 2010, 1
Something about a Face: Itinérant Post-Spectacle
Practices and the Work of Graham Landin
Michael RATTRAY
"TA rAÁWí? %-A'A^oív /A
A?
Introduction
On a given Saturday night in 2008 — 2009 on
Saint-Laurent Boulevard, in the Plateau area of
Montréal, a passerby and a colleague or two will
stop and examine a piece of détritus left out for the
myriád of garbage disposai means within the city. In
this instance a stack of old cathode ray télévisions,
one of which is painted bright orange, are each
adorned with what had now become a familiar sight
within the local area. A three eyed vinyl adhesive
face is applied to the top of the stacked télévisions
and, as is usually the case, one of the passerby's has
paused for a photo with it [Fig. 1]. For the majority
of 2008 and 2009, the Plateau, a geographical area
within Montréal, Québec, was used as the means to
promote a friendly and participatory art practice that
is difhcult to classify, yet immensely populär.
The pièces, created and posted by local artist
Graham Landin (b. 1982), are an example of a
new development that demonstrates an itinérant
post-spectacle practice activated through urban
public sphere(s). The works in question appropri-
ate everyday éléments and architecture of urban
public sphere(s) to effectuate their dissémination
and understanding. The materials used by the art-
ist are large sheets of vinyl adhesive, eut to shape,
which are then placed within spaces in and around
' DEBORD, G.: TA A tA Detroit 1983,
p. 220.
the city that suit the desired aesthetic [Figs. 1-10].
Given the mass-produced origin of the material,
the pièces specify that the practice is one that can
be accomplished quickly, at relative expense, and
can be activated anywhere. The tools of the artist
are as readily available as a pair of scissors and a
ruler. Exclusively, the vinyl shapes are eut into an-
thropomorphic characteristics: noses, eyes, a mouth,
perhaps some tears and cheekbones, occasionally a
beard. These éléments are then spatially arranged
and adhered to a public wall, a private entrance way,
a water pump shed, a public monument, Windows,
doors, basically anything the artist deems relatable
to the characteristics of a human face. The gloss of
the adhered vinyl has a propensity to make the pièces
pop out from their architectural backings, creating
a space where the dimensions of the site conform
and complété the desired aesthetic effect in a com-
plimentary and reciprocal manner.
Landin comments that the works are "AA AA-
AG A;# /%wA? A /A 0^ AfpAčAyg /A Ap* o/' /A
'r They are pièces designed with an express
intent of aestheticizing the urban space, while also
communicating the wink of play associated with
current Contemporary art practices. Landin adds the
works are created to remind people that life can be
imaginative, that there are members of the populace
out doing and making things which endeavor to pro-
mote positive values and happiness into a culture that
is consistently beaten down by media scare tactics,
credit debt, war; what Naomi Kline terms 'TA j*A<A
^ The author's interview with G. LANDIN, November 24,
2008.
69