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Guerrilla art ethics.

  • When (if ever) is it appropriate to take a piece of guerrilla art down and keep it? So this morning http://instagram.com/p/ecZlMOOMac/ piece of art showed up on our office property, overlooking a busy morning street. It made our morning! The artist, as she was installing it, said that it probably would not last long -- people tend to take them quickly. We're situated right near a college campus, and it's also supposed to rain today. We feel kind of like we should take it down and bring it inside... and actually own it! At least before some college frat house grabs it to hang mardi gras beads and a lampshade on. But here's the thing. The intent of the artist is for it to be seen, right? So is it really better to NOT preserve it, and just leave it out there as long as possible, for more people to see? By taking it down to preserve it, would we end up being the assholes we want to save it from?

  • Answer:

    There's an email address on the contact page of that website. Email her and ask.

kaseijin at Ask.Metafilter.Com Visit the source

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I'd also add, if you do take it, and then you do see the artist again, you should get her deets and give her piece a label with artist credit/contact info on it.

dirtylittlecity

Yeah in this case since you can contact the artist, do it! More generally my ethical answer is "never". If you absolutely knew it was going to be stolen or thrown into the garbage in one hour, that might be "maybe", if your intent was to put it somewhere else safer on public display. But you can never know that for sure. And the "this will be gone soon I might as well just take it" is of course the justification used by the other person who did take it. I'm a huge fan of http://www.space-invaders.com/. People regularly http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2011/jun/05/stringers-space-invader-art-stolen-downtown-/ his mosaics off the walls where he's installed them; his installations in LA lasted less than a week. It's shitty.

Nelson

Put it in the window at your office so people outside can see it. Problem solved.

dirtylittlecity

If the facilities manager is going to take it down, take it down yourself and preserve it.

Jairus

And then send her a $100 gift card (or more) to a local art supply store! I think it's very cool.

amanda

More generally my ethical answer is "never". That's ridiculous. Placing undesired and unasked for objects on private property is vandalism. There is no problem with you or the facility manager removing the art either to send to the trash or to keep for display in another area. You cannot "steal" something that was abandoned on private/public property by the object's creator. Any standard to the contrary suggests I can ethically litter on your house's front lawn. Whatever you do here, there's no reason to feel bad; the artist needs to learn to respect property laws.

saeculorum

She actually left a URL, printed on cloth, nailed to the stump on which she affixed her piece -- http://www.giantmutantdolls.com. Apparently she puts these up here and there around Austin. It's surely not for everybody... but it's kind of whimsical and weird and fun!

kaseijin

I'd save it. But your coworkers might want to... Wish it into the cornfield, son!

artdrectr

Your own act of guerrilla performance art is taking it down. Since it's already on your property, no problem -- you're just cleaning up litter (even if you know who 'installed' it).

Rash

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