CAC Dusts Off Street Art Swag

With the opening of Keith Haring: 1978-1982, the CAC will again be host to a party for local hipsters and others who support art parties. This show, like last year's Shepard Fairey show, will also give the CAC an opportunity to organize another summer public mural project.

The CAC claims major exhibitions and programs like these serve their mission to make contemporary art more accessible to a larger audience. It is true artists like Keith Haring worked to reach a larger audience by painting in public spaces. But this goal to engage larger audiences is not particular to street artists. All artists work to be part of a larger discussion.

And it is a discussion, not a spectacle for entertaining the masses.

Last summer's whitewashing of a couple of Shepard Fairey's murals I argued was the result of the CAC's refusal to lead any discussion on important issues surrounding Fairey's work. Large murals of child soldiers painted just outside a school was an opportunity for an important discussion....one the CAC refused to lead.

Like last year, there is yet no indication the CAC has the courage to discuss those issues that find a place in Haring's work. Some of the fundamental topics found in many of his whimsical paintings and drawings include power and threat, death and deliverance, religion, sexuality, heaven and hell. The show is opening this week, though the CAC includes no indication these topics will be discussed.

Failing to engage these tough topics, opting instead for parties, Raphaela Platow's commitment to expanding audiences and making art accessible is a false one.

CAC Recycling Program

When the CAC recently unveiled their upcoming season, I noticed a re-running of a couple of this season's themes. In particular, "Where Do We Go From Here?" (hey, the CAC practically gift-wrapped this pun-fun title for me) and Keith Haring, 1978-1982. Both of these exhibitions are curated by Raphaela Platow and both address Pop Art, text in art, and art in urban landscapes. The CAC has spent the last year parading these same ideas in their run-up and still showing (probably at a gallery near you, too), Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand.

Is it not enough that the CAC has been forced to extend their shows much longer than average runs? But now it looks like Platow is busy threading the calendar with recycled material.

I do like Keith Haring and I devoted my academic career to Contemporary Latino Art, but I'm having nightmares (honestly) of a year of "art is everywhere" splash mob salsa dancing and murals done throughout the city on chalkboard paint.

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