Renée van Oploo
info@reneevanoploo.nl
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BIO
I am a Dutch artist whose practice combines making and thinking. Through installations, essays, and collaborative projects, I explore how art can open space for ethical reflection and collective experience. Alongside my practice I teach at St. Joost School of Art & Design and conduct research at the Centre of Applied Research for Art, Design and Technology (CARADT). I am also part of YAFF, an artists’ collective. Research
A Head Massage Tool or a Crowbar?
Toolbox for the Evaluation of Art in Public Spaces
Keywords:
public space, art, ambition, impact, agonism, participation
ABSTRACT
In this
research project, I present an open and accessible approach to analysing art in
public space. It introduces a toolbox for evaluating both the artist’s ambition
and the artwork’s impact. I use this research to pose a central question: can
such a toolbox serve as a valuable resource for assessing the ambitions and
effects of artworks in public space? Art often engages with overwhelmingly
complex issues such as world peace, climate change, and inclusivity, making it
essential to understand how ideology translates into tangible impact. To
address this, I’ve filled the toolbox with various tools and utilities, whose
applicability I test through case studies that explore the artworks’ ambition
and impact: does the artwork function as a crowbar, a head massage tool, a
noticeboard, or a workbench? In doing so, I try to find a constructive way to
navigate dilemmas surrounding public art, including the roles of commissioning,
disengagement, and participation.
Hold on tight, this research is soon to be seen @ http://ruukku-journal.fi/en