are focusing their energies on works of such scope that these can only be hinted at In the Gallery, and cannot be shown or realized here. These artists are going out of the Gallery into the environment. the sky, the ocean, even into outer space. Others are seeking Imaginative ways of utilizing modern technology to humanize people Instead of for commercial or destructive purposes, which de-humanize us all....I hope to contribute to the realization of some of these projects, particularly to those which are susceptible of diffusion over television. Most important of all, I feel I must " to put to maximum social use whatever I possess In the way of training, ability and experience ... I cannot stand idly by when the existence of our society and ourselves as individuals is so darkly threatened .... In perceiving the limitations of galleries, Wise was responding to changes in the presentation of art which occurred in the '60s. Many of his affiliated artists were involved in projects which, because of size and emphasis on environment, had to be shown In public spaces. For instance, Otto Piene began working with helium and creating large outdoor inflated sculpture. In 1967, five artists produced Kinetic Environment in Central Park which, according to Willoughby Sharp, "Tried to activate a quarter-mile cube of nature by using natural kinetic elements like air, fire, fog, ice, smell, smoke, and water." 37 Sharp concluded, "if one wants to characterize the present stage of the art of light and movement, one could say that due to the rapidly Increasing awareness of past accomplishments there is a strong feeling of confidence in the ability of the new art to reconstruct the world kinetically." But In 1970 artists' interest in kinetic and light sculpture began to . Many of the same artists began making electronic art while others produced large outdoor pieces; few continued to create sculpture. The reasons for this are diverse. David Bermant believes that the technology was still too cumbersome and unsophisticated to be effectively used in art, and that there was too little emphasis on how to maintain these works. For his part, Wise turned to electronic art, and his interest in video went beyond his curiosity about new technology-, it was also political: I wanted to do an anti-Vietnam War show in the late 1960s, and I chose the subject of the constitution. I always felt and still do that we really ought to teach our young people something about our rights and our constitutional heritage. I asked artists to submit ideas which I would then plan to help them get into -video, but I got so little that seemed worthwhile.... You see, the reason I wanted to move in the direction at video was that I felt It could get a story across without making N propaganda. I thought the Vietnam War was an obscene thing, and you know damn well when you were watching Nixon on -->> next page |