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Testing the Limits: Artist's project misunderstood right off the bat, but it drew attention to art
Journal Photo by Walt Unks
An untitled piece of artwork by Mark Jenkins sits near the entrance to the Tanglewood Arboretum, part of SECCA’s Inside Out: Artists in the Community II series.
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Published: October 11, 2009
Mark Jenkins' September project for the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art provided a lesson in the difficulties faced by a self-described "street artist" working within an institutional context. The project also provided a revealing test of the art tolerance of law-enforcement authorities in the "City of the Arts."
In the past four years, Jenkins, based in Washington, has developed an international reputation for his life-size sculptures of human and animal figures, cast from clear-plastic packing tape and other humble materials, and usually installed in public settings. The idea is to prompt passersby to question what they're seeing. Instead of reclaiming the pieces for sale or re-use, Jenkins typically leaves them behind to remain on view indefinitely.
Under the auspices of SECCA's "Inside Out: Artists in the Community II" program, Jenkins spent several days in Winston-Salem last month, working with volunteers to produce eight such sculptures for six installations in public settings that he had selected on previous visits. Unfortunately, his plans hit a snag within an hour of the first figure's installation.
On the morning of Sept. 21, Jenkins and several assistants placed the life-size sculpture of a woman -- wearing a long-hair wig and an ordinary-looking sweater and jeans -- in a reclining position atop a billboard at the corner of Eighth and Trade streets. Only minutes later, someone was evidently alarmed by it and phoned the police.
Scofflaw sculpture
As previously reported in the Winston-Salem Journal, several police officers arrived on the scene and discovered that the reclining woman was only an effigy, with an attached tag that revealed SECCA's sponsoring role. Instead of leaving the figure in place and noting its art status in case of further phone calls about it, the police contacted SECCA and requested that it be removed. SECCA complied.
Although few people saw the piece, the incident got far more attention than the average gallery exhibition, and the resultant media coverage probably increased the turnout for Jenkins' well-attended Sept. 22 lecture at Reynolda House. There Jenkins talked about his previous work, explained how he happens to be doing what he does and discussed why he does it.
Jenkins holds a bachelor's degree in geology from Virginia Tech and is artistically self-taught. He said he views his works as a means of stimulating dialog about how public space is used. Illustrating his points with projected digital images, he favorably contrasted works of street art such as his own and that of graffiti writers with the government-sanctioned advertising billboards cluttering the visual landscape.
Jenkins said that unlike commercially motivated billboards, his public installations are often intended simply to convey a sense of the absurd. Describing the pieces as "situations that leave people scratching their heads," he said he hopes that they might prompt such bemused viewers to critically question other aspects of their surroundings. "A lot of what art is is testing the limits," he said.
Jenkins said that the police investigation of his first Winston-Salem installation "introduced a new element of conservatism" into the local public-space equation just as he was preparing to install the other figures he made during his residency. Following the billboard incident, the police requested that SECCA apply in advance for official approval of any subsequent public artworks it might choose to sponsor.
From a distance
Two of Jenkins' pieces were installed in settings at a safe distance from public streets -- one on the grounds at Reynolda House and another in the Arboretum at Tanglewood Park. The one at Tanglewood will remain on view indefinitely, according to Steven Matijcio, SECCA's curator of contemporary art. The one at Reynolda House -- in a magnolia tree on the grounds -- was removed Thursday. The reasons for its removal have not been made public.
Jenkins also created pieces for three other Winston-Salem locations -- at the downtown bus terminal, on the corner of Liberty and Fourth streets and in a patch of kudzu at the corner of Liberty and 25th streets. They were temporarily set up so they could be photographed, then taken down pending official approval from the city.
After a meeting on Thursday with SECCA Director Mark Leach and city officials, Matijcio said, "The city and the state are working in partnership to sort through the many issues that public art installations present. ... The timeline is as yet uncertain." But they hope to be able to reinstall the pieces soon.
Regardless of whether these remaining works ever appear -- or reappear -- in their chosen settings, Jenkins' project has clearly had a greater audience impact than any of the other off-site projects SECCA has sponsored since its galleries were closed at the beginning of the year for renovations. It has also raised some pertinent, timely issues for discussion in this supposedly art-supportive community.
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