The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, 1984-1985

This project was a collaboration between the artist and the park surrounding the Soldiers and Sailors Civil War Memorial Arch in Brooklyn, New York. The organizer of the local Art in the Park program, Mariella Bisson invited Wodiczko to project an image on the arch. The original purpose was to add another element to their local program through the projection. The piece consisted of an image of Soviet and United States Missiles chained together. It was projected for one hour, 11:30 to 12:30 pm. The official report said 1400 people viewed it but the artist believes many more did because it was on a busy street.


According to Wodiczko, his purpose in the project was to adorn the almost entirely blank north side of the arch. In an interview, he said “There are no sculptures or reliefs on the north side…this is a monument to the northern army so the south side of the arch is very busy with representations of the army marching south to liberate the south….it has nothing to say on the north because if it did, they would have to self-reflect.”

The work was generally well received by the public and critics. The public was somewhat disappointed with the projection at first because they expected a series of pictures just not one. The critics particularly noted the contrast between the projection and the arch it was projected on. According to one critic, “(Wodiczko) projected a padlock, a symbol of a sign of constraint and limitation, on the keystone as a dissonant equivalent of the figure of liberation, the winged victory. “

This piece by the artist demonstrates a commentary on the cold war. The missiles are labeled clearly as United States and U.S.S.R. through the use of colors; red, white, blue for the U.S. and Red, yellow for the U.S.S.R. They’re attachment by the padlock signifies the inseverable connection between the superpowers during the cold war. If one country decided to fire on the other, both sides would be decimated. The fates of the two countries were coupled together and the piece reflects this.

Resources:
http://www.imagearts.ryerson.ca/imagesandideas/pages/artistpicture.cfm?page=174
http://books.google.com/books?id=kBa8HOLHrdMC&pg=RA1-PA17&lpg=RA1-PA17&dq=Krzysztof+Wodiczko,+Sztuka+publiczna&source=bl&ots=sQCWYUHdIt&sig=y0zqwhleas37XDfkM_1aGCo_8cc&hl=en&ei=gaIJS6TrBM2dlAeF1-SEBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CCgQ6AEwBw#v=snippet&q=brooklyn&f=false

CECUT Project - 2000

This project was jointly developed by the Wodiczko, Adam Whiton, and Sung Ho Kim. It took place in the Mexican town of Tijuana. Tijuana is a city near the United States border that serves as a jumping off point for those trying to get away from the poverty stricken south. It acts as a place of transition for crossing over the border. The project itself consisted of the confessions and life stories of a number of women who work in the “maquiladoras” or assembly factories. These were recorded in real time through a video camera and projected on the Omnimax Theater at the Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT). A camera and microphone headset was developed to allow the women to move and always be in focus. The women told stories of work related abuse, sexual abuse, family disintegration, alcoholism, and domestic violence. These projections were seen by 1500 viewers over two nights.

The choice of subjects, according to Wodiczko, was based on “90% of people working in Tijuana are women…often doing unspeakable things…the purpose was to use progressive technology to give voice and visibility to the women who work in the “maquiladora” industry in Tijuana” The choice of a location was also purposeful. As Wodiczko said” This building is an very important, symbolic structure in Tijuana...it’s almost a symbol of the city, a landmark”

To the critics and art world, this work was new and interesting. Ben Dalton, an art critic, said the first thing he felt “was the sense of performance and intimacy that his technical set-up creates… (the video camera) is cumbersome, and unnatural, and yet it frees them up to move as they wish through the crowd and space”

For me, this project represents a progressive way to present the daily trials and tribulations of women in Tijuana. The artists’ connection of a local landmark to these problems brought attention to the issues. Many of the subjects and stories communicated through these projects were taboo and unspeakable. The project acted as a type of public therapy for these women, giving them a place to tell what had happened to them. My hope is that the project helped to start a dialogue about these problems and how to fix them. I couldn’t find any record of this but the hope is still there.

Resources:

http://bendalton.noii.net/journal/

http://vodpod.com/watch/746157-krzysztof-wodiczko-tijuana

http://web.mit.edu/idg/cecut.html

"The Hiroshima Projection" 1999

This project was a collaboration between the artist and the Hiroshima A-Bomb dome foundation. The dome was one of the few structures left standing after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima August 6, 1945. Although the dropping of the bomb had the desired result (ending the pacific theater of World War Two) it came at a horrible cost. Over 160,000 people died immediately after the bomb was dropped or as a result of injuries sustained. The Hiroshima A-Bomb dome was dedicated as a monument to those who died and serves as a reminder of the human cost of war. The work itself consisted of video taken of survivors of the bombs but showing just their hands. This was projected on a river bank just below the dome which ensured that you couldn’t see the dome without seeing and hearing the survivor’s memories.

Wodiczko’s interest in doing this project was started when he received the Hiroshima Prize. This prize is given to artists who further the cause of world peace. As Wodiczko said “I don’t think I deserve this prize, but once it was given to me I decided to accept it on the condition that I will try to deserve this prize. I will be spending the rest of my life trying to deserve it….It was also a possibility to do a large public project in Hiroshima. I proposed a projection, which was to take place the night of the anniversary of the bombing, which was a very important event worldwide, in Japan, and of course, most importantly, in Hiroshima.”

The critics and public at large were impressed with the projection and its significance. George Baker of Art Forum in the December, 2000 issue said the projection was impressive and described the hands as “particularly suited to the contradictions of such a task”. He goes on to say that “the hands below the dome transformed the structure into something like a speaking being, an uncanny, damaged body now reverberating with life and voice….. he turned the monument into a prosthetic for the mutilated conditions of public speech”

This project was a brilliant, powerful and thought provoking piece by Wodiczko. The most powerful part for me was the man talking about a bike lock. At first the bike lock seems merely a trinket he found afterwards but he went on to describe how important it really was. It was one of the only ways that his family could identify his dad’s body. Now he keeps the lock as a reminder for his children and grandchildren what happened that day. This describes something that most of us can’t fathom or even pretend to. The fact that a simple bike lock can bring home the message of the monument is a testament to the brilliance of this work.

Resources:

http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/wodiczko/clip1.html
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1035373678717#
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0268/is_4_39/ai_68697138/