Ephemeral Art

We've been talking about obstacles to the survival of photographs, but, to take it to one more remove, consider that photographs, as ephemeral as they may be, are often used to try to preserve things that have even shorter lives. TOP reader Chad Thompson has been documenting the work of an artist local to him (he thinks it's a guy known as "Spenser") who makes little sculptures out of wire and hangs them anonymously from public signs, where they look like line drawings drawn on the sky. Of course, these wire creations are perishable, because the local authorities have been removing them as soon as they find them. So Chad has been recording their brief existence as best he can. "It is my job—nay—duty to document them," he says.

Mike
(Photo by Chad Thompson)

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Original contents copyright 2011 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Featured Comment by Phil S: "In a sorta similar vein, every year around Christmastime an anonymous decorator strikes in my Austin, Texas, neighborhood. You know those wordless 'deer may jump in the road' signs which consist of the stylized outline of a deer jumping up on its hind legs as if he or she were about to take flight? Well somewhere during the first week of December this person goes out in the middle of the night and puts little battery-powered red LED lights on the noses of the deer on the signs (and there are a lot of those signs). When driving at night you can see them blinking from very far away. My two small girls just love it! And the best part is that, as far as I could tell, the City did not dispatch the Joy Eradication Unit to remove them."

Comments

[Alberto]

Wow!

[techne]

Very ephemeral "art". It existed shorter than a butterfly's life.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/daltonista/5346013558/

[CAUTION: Not workplace / school safe. —Ed.]

[Bob Peterson]

So, do Chad's photographs support or thwart the artist's intent? That is, if the artist intends his art to be ephemeral, will the artist cheer or boo Chad's preservation effort?

Or does the question even matter?

Bob

[Ken White]

I done some of this sort of documentation over the last few years. The state of Texas announced that they were going to destroy roadside memorials on the premise that they were driving hazards. I found myself photographing every one I came across for almost three years. The state has since backed off a bit. Roadside memorials may well be hazards but the decision to remove them was very unpopular.

[Robin Dreyer]

Not to mention the great Andy Goldsworthy. Most of his work is entirely ephemeral and created in remote locations. Without his excellent photographs, nobody would ever have heard of him or his work. In fact, it's always interested me that he is thought of as a sculptor rather than a photographer.

[amcananey]

Lovely pictures and sculptures...

Adam

[Aaron Kok]

there's something deeply sad and moving about this.

[David Dyer-Bennet]

Arguably it's even an artistic medium I haven't seen before -- line drawings implemented with wire against a bright background. The detail in this example is quite remarkable.

[Herman]

You could say that the photographs made by Weegee of crime scenes in New York are a form of ephemeral art.

[toto]

Maybe they're being removed by collectors, perhaps including local authorities.

[Miserere]

Chad Thompson is not simply documenting, he's creating meta art—those aren't "record" photos, they're clearly art. Exhibit A: Those clouds are very purposefully placed within the frame.

Kudos to Mr Thompson, I love what he's doing. And the mystery Spenser can bend a mean wire too.

[Andreas Weber]

Andy Goldsworthy comes to mind as well (e.g. http://lhlefevre.com/blog/2006/05/30/installation/).

[Sean]

I like that it's not intended to last. It's sculptural graffiti and one thing I've always loved about graffiti is that you know that what you've created is in a precarious position from birth. His Mona Lisa with Rocket Launcher was converted to Osama Bin Ladin by another artist and totally removed by the council. All this within the space of two days

Local authorities have painted over and washed down many a Banksy in my city . A graffiti artist would not expect anything less, part of the appeal of it is the to keep one step ahead of the authorities. His work's no longer knowingly destroyed, it's authenticated & protected by the old enemy. It's other artist that'll get to them now and he can't object to that

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8680735.stm

Authorities are not an authority on art

[Avi]

Reminds me of the Banksy documentary "Exit through the gift shop". In that case it was video documentation of temporary street art.

[patrick]

Why have the authorities been removing them?

[Mike Johnston]

"Why have the authorities been removing them?"

I assume because they're on road signs and you're not allowed to deface or obstruct road signs.

Mike

[Christian]

It gladdens my heart to see references to Andy Goldsworthy already. He is my single favorite artist, bar none.

[David Dyer-Bennet]

Hmmm; I'd say the reaction of the sculptor to Chad's photos is "of interest", but is not in any way dispositive.

[paul logins]

"Why have the authorities been removing them?"

I suppose,if they didn't,the spray paint
artists will bitch to the city government
about their graffiti being banned and
artistic discrimination.