Power to the People Contemporary Art Forum | Kitchener and Area, CAFKA.02 September 21-29, 2002 Each year artists are invited to install temporary and site-specific works at Kitchener City Hall. This is not an easy task. The curatorial committee asks artists to surmount two obstacles. The first requires artists to conceive and make artwork in a setting that is decidedly not intended for art. Bruce Kuwabara's stunning design of Kitchener City Hall allows for many functions, but the traditional hanging of gallery-style exhibitions is not one of them. This is both an obstacle and a blessing. Artists must conceive of work that can occupy other physical and ideological positions than the norm. This engenders acts of creative problem solving from the artists that result in fascinating and evocative artistic 'solutions.' The second challenge lies in the changing themes of Contemporary Art Forum | Kitchener and Area. Each year the curatorial committee chooses a theme of regional or timely significance to which the artists are asked to respond. CAFKA strives to exhibit international artists alongside regional ones, steadfast in the belief that regional artists have as much to offer to the global context as do those who are working elsewhere in the world. Conversely, it often requires an outside pair of eyes to help us see ourselves. So it is in the spirit of exchange and dialogue between the regional and the global that we define an area of inquiry that is specific to this region. 2002 marked the 100th anniversary of the inception, in Kitchener, of a publicly owned utility company. As historian Martin de Groot describes: "A critical turning point occurred on June 9, 1902 during a legendary assembly at Berlin's Walper House. (…) The result was a united resolve to launch an organized campaign that in very short order culminated in the creation of what would become one of the largest publicly owned utilities in the world. The Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, the precursor to Ontario Hydro (now Hydro One), was formed in the spring of 1906." Electrical power from Niagara Falls was officially turned on in Berlin (now Kitchener) on October 11th, 1914 (4 days before Toronto) and was celebrated with the motto " Hydro For The People." In order to update the phrase and to increase its interpretive potential, the theme for CAFKA.02 became "Power to the People." The organizing and curatorial committee see responding to CAFKA's annual theme as an interpretive act and slightly mutable. Power to the People encouraged artists to deal with the specific history of the birth of Ontario Hydro, and the importance of public enterprise, or to engage the broader and democratic interpretations of the phrase, or to simply view the conception of the work, its installation and ensuing dialogue with the public as empowering acts in themselves. Occasionally a proposal or project is presented that simply doesn't adhere to even a broad interpretation of the theme. Robert Marbury's Urban Beasts sent the curatorial committee into gales of laughter at each viewing and it was felt that there simply had to be room made for exceptional projects that didn't expressly address the theme. We continue to have an open stance to programming and to present works from varied practices and diverse philosophical and artistic approaches. After all art is, by definition, never just one thing… Power to the People, as it turned out, was incredibly timely. The summer of 2002 was fraught with debate over the provincial Conservative government's push to privatize the hundred-year-old public utility and over the deregulation of the electricity market as of May 1st, 2002. Strangely, there were no projects that dealt specifically with then current headlines (perhaps artists are smarter than that, realizing that today's headlines quickly become yesterday's news). Instead, artists engaged in a series of activities that probed questions of power in all its forms. What follows are some brief insights into the exhibition and into a number of the projects. Unfortunately, it is not possible to properly discuss all 20 projects nor to adequately convey the complexity and depth that each work brought to the exhibition. As readers of this catalogue, you must content yourselves, at times, with looking only at Elisabeth Feryn’s superb images of the works, bringing to bear your own interpretations and responses. This is a failing on my part, and bears no relation to the quality, interest, and absolute integrity of all the works that formed CAFKA.02. In preparing an exhibition whose success depends on incredible cooperation from a municipal body (the City of Kitchener) and on what I can only describe as an ‘unbridled public-ness’, there are many entirely non-artistic factors to consider. Issues of community standards, liability and risk management, unfettered access, and public safety become the primary concerns that traditional gallery spaces don’t need to deal with to the same degree. One chooses to enter a gallery, whereas Contemporary Art Forum presents works of art in spaces that are already inhabited by passers-by, city employees, and those having business at City Hall or in the downtown. Early in 2002, it became apparent that one project was the cause of some concern. Boredom Research is an artistic duo made up of Vicky Isley and Paul Smith of Southampton, UK. Their works of multi-media, video projection, computer programs, internet activities, and sculptural installations, probe issues around the use of technology, the dissemination of information, and the role of the individual within the contemporary global and technological context. There is a decidedly political dimension to their practice and it is further characterized by a cynical playfulness. Their work '7960 Characters Arranged in a Dangerous Order' was displayed in a downtown storefront throughout each night of the Forum. The work presents accurate instructions for making a hydrogen bomb, shown one letter at a time, at a rate of 9 letters per second. That these instructions are readily available on the World Wide Web seemed in no way to lessen the perceived danger. The debates that ensued around the appropriateness of displaying this work, particularly in light of the still very recent terrorist attacks in New York and Washington were, in some ways, predictable: Are we condoning or inciting violence? Is this information actually dangerous? Does the possession of this information constitute a democratic right? Is the artists’ treatment or encryption of the text sufficient to render it safe? Why would the artists want to draw our attention to this anyway? Did it matter that in the Kitchener Public Library there are a series of books that explain, in far greater detail, how to construct bombs that are actually usable from household materials? The list goes on. In short, the work provoked all the questions that Boredom Research intended before it had been shown. And, also predictably, the response to the work itself was little more than a whimper. If one tried hard, one could decipher a few words at the beginning, but the end it was a harmless string of letters endlessly flashing on a window. This failure, too, was no doubt intended. Conversely, it was a work by Kitchener artists Rob Gorbet, Susan Gorbet, and Matt Gorbet that generated an incredible response from both participants and authorities. Adopting a title that was a further updating of the theme, ‘P2P’ consisted of two components. The first was a large marquee sign made up of 125 light bulbs suspended beneath the canopy over the main entrance to Kitchener City Hall. The second was a panel of 125 household light switches located in front of the reflecting pool on Civic Square. Each switch controlled a single bulb that could be turned on or off at will. The work was reminiscent of a celebratory marquee that spanned King Street in 1910 in which the words "Hydro" and "For the People" were spelled out in light bulbs. The difference here was that the message was not fixed. Available 24 hours a day for the duration of the Forum, anyone could arrange the lit bulbs to spell out personal messages. Suddenly, the tools of corporate communication and advertising were made available to anyone, and free, democratic expression began, bolstered by partial anonymity. The work literally and figuratively brought ‘power to the people.’ And, as with all forums where there is potential for differences in opinion, the debate around what were ‘appropriate’ messages for the citizenry became particularly intense. The dais where the switch panel was located became the site of heated arguments between people of all descriptions (including police), all eager to voice their thoughts, kudos, or objections to the messages displayed, which were often only single words. Others devised and played games with work, while others still turned the marquee into decorative pattern. (For a partial archive of images/words that appeared on 'P2P' visit www.gorbet.com/p2p). The work endured, and remained operable for the full duration of the Forum. Early one morning I drove by Civic Square which was still dark and deserted. The marquee simply read ‘SERBIA’. It seemed an important reminder that outside our petty debates about what constitutes appropriate democratic expression, there are still places in the world where democracy itself is as tenuous as the flicker of a light bulb. Using electrical power and light itself as material and subject was a strategy deployed by many artists. Daniel Olson’s practice is characterized by simple gestures which become imbued with extreme significance. What was surprising about his work Fifteen Seconds was its absolute success, for it is ridiculously simple. A wooden tower was constructed and a theatrical follow-spot was installed at its peak. Olson would climb the tower and proceed to illuminate individuals as they entered and exited City Hall, thereby giving them their ‘fifteen seconds’ of fame. Ostensibly an updating of Andy Warhol’s legendary phrase whereby everyone in the future would receive fifteen minutes of fame, Olson’s performance not only suggests that celebrity is even more fleeting than a few decades ago, but that it may not even be pertinent at all. The reactions from the unwitting participants in his social experiment were equally surprising: many took up the challenge to become a ‘performer’ showcasing the way they walked, behaved, or their presence itself. While others scurried for the dark or didn’t notice. Additionally, during the day, Olson’s empty tower stood quietly in Civic Square. It was at once the watchful eye of the civic authority, a rescue station, a prison camp, a fire tower, a prop for a film. Olson himself is a kind of anachronistic film star. In his inimitable way he maintains a certain understated mystery with his presence. He doesn’t see those who engage with his work as "viewers", "participants", or "audience", (which all imply artificial relationships) but simply as people. He seems to recognize the performative moment without becoming slave to it, or without imposing it on others. His work is an invitation and tacit agreement to meaningful interaction. In recent years Glasgow artist Ben Woodeson has used electrical current and energy in sculptural objects and installations. He proceeds as amateur scientist, scavenging the natural and artificial worlds for sources of growth, energy, and decay. His engaging and sometimes even dangerous works seem to exemplify the Universal Law of the Conservation of Energy, which states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, simply transferred from one form to another. His work for Contemporary Art Forum entitled ‘Kitchener Radio’ consisted of over 300 cups of pulped tomatoes all interconnected with wires and copper plates. The acidity created as the tomatoes decayed produced an electrical current which in turn powered a small transistor radio tuned to a Kitchener station. The work reminds us of simple yet essential scientific principles, it shows us that from decay comes life, and proves that energy is equivalent, whether it be used to feed our stomachs or to feed our minds. The tomatoes as battery lasted about 7days. By day 5, the smell of the rotting fruit was already an additional ‘challenging’ aspect to the work. Art Industria (Derek Knight and Franc Petric) also worked with actual power and light. In an unprecedented move, they produced a work in collaboration with the local utility. 'Monument' is best described by the text that accompanied the work located in the building directly across the street from Kitchener City Hall: "Displaced within this building is a replica lamp standard with a luminaire known as the 'Washington' (circa. 1930-40). Generating 9,500 lumens from its high pressure sodium-filled 100 watt bulb, it illuminates the interior of this commercial building, the former Public Utilities Commission; the site of Canada's first hydro-electric power utility. Light in this instance is intended to signal how absence and memory, power and knowledge, are each the constituent of a monument dedicated to great works.The proposed removal of the street lamp behind you is a conceptual gesture realized for the duration of the exhibition.This Art Industria site-intervention was produced in collaboration with Kitchener Wilmot Hydro." The lamp standard remained lit for the entire duration of the Forum. At night, its powerful light spilled onto the street and turned the building into a giant lantern, cradling and perhaps protecting its historical yet active artifact. Not all the works of Power to the People were overtly confrontational. New York artist Jillian Mcdonald’s performance-based practice often involves the exploration of simple relationships among people. For CAFKA.02, Mcdonald proposed to offer free temporary tattoos of light bulbs to passers-by. Dressed in a bright yellow shirt with a light bulb on it, silvered vinyl trousers, large silver cross-trainers (making herself a kind of light bulb), and accompanied by a silver cart with her ‘tattoo administering kit’, Mcdonald began to offer and apply tattoos to anyone who would have them. Her generosity and ever-pleasant demeanor allowed this to take place effortlessly. Burly men, children of all ages, pregnant women, all were privileged to be subjected to Mcdonald’s gentle touch, her soft sponge, and easy conversation. The absolute sincerity of her simple gift endeared her to all as a few moments were held from the day to interact with a stranger. The lines between performance and reality melted away. "Why are you doing this?" people would ask, to which she would respond: "It’s part of and art show called Power to the People" or "I like talking to new people and doing something for strangers outdoors where they least expect it." But in the end it didn’t matter. The tattoo image was there, as a record of time spent, a memory of a brief and delightful encounter. Over the course of 5 days Mcdonald gave tattoos to about 130 people. Each one received a photographic post card of their tattoo in the mail a few weeks after the exhibition. (These images can be found at her web site at: http://rand.pratt.edu/~mcdonald/power.html) The project by Dutton, Peacock, Swindells was another work whose presence was equally subtle but no less poignant. The Sheffield, U.K. trio presented a lengthy text work on all 28 screens of Council Chambers. As the seat of civic government, the site of municipal decision making, Kitchener City Hall Council Chambers commands and impressive aura. It is democratic architecture at its best. The massive space always seems intimate, the curved walls and double entrances at floor level make for a welcoming experience. It feels, at times, as though the processes and discussions that occur here are, indeed, open and accessible. Dutton, Peacock, Swindells developed a slowly unfolding narrative that cycled and was circular in sympathy with the space itself. Single words appeared on the screens that recounted the inner thoughts of a fictitious female municipal councilor, as she sat through hours of important and vital yet boring meetings and discussions. The story identifies the reality of contemporary democracy as a long and even painful process requiring much patience. Further, we get insight into the fictitious councilor's thoughts of insecurity and the seeming contradiction between the weight of her responsibility and the incredible tedium of the process. The work looped endlessly, in subdued light, and quiet and comforting boredom filled the room. Otiose is a word meaning 'idle', 'indolent', 'lazy', or 'useless'. It is also the pseudonym of London, U.K. artist John Dummet. Using himself in roles that variously became 'conscientious objector', 'listless complainer', and 'unwilling protestor', Dummet occupied the much of City Hall for the 9-day duration of the show. With an arsenal of placards, taped messages, megaphones, and responses from passers-by, Dummet engaged in a series of 'sit-ins' and other protest-like activities that were characterized by genuine earnestness and concern. He sought to discover the meaning of the phrase 'Power to the People' and others' interpretations of it. By allowing people to write their own messages on his placards, Dummet became merely the vehicle for communication between the populace and authorities—a democratic sacrificial lamb. Prostrate and in deference, he would allow messages to be written which he would then sometimes deliver to symbols of authority in the same fashion. His deliberately misguided efforts underscored the difficulty of actually saying anything meaningful in the world where conflicting agendas and special interests are so numerous. Crouched down and holding a confusing and contradictory sign directly in front of the security desk, Otiose was ignored. His annunciation was directed to the wrong place. What was the right place? Upstairs? In Council Chambers where Dutton, Peacock, Swindells' fictitious councilor is battling to stay awake? Perhaps Dummet's activities are otiose. Or, on the other hand, perhaps somebody took notice. Peter Conlin & Kirsten Forkert proceeded in similar fashion, but adopted a more positive tack (Conlin, Forkert, and Dummet continue to collaborate on various projects around the world). The following is taken from the results of their performance titled 'What Can We Do?': " For 3 days, we sat inside City Hall and spoke to people about the question 'What can we do?'. The point was not so much to generate answers but to explore the implications of this question. How much power do we really have to change things and what are the limits of that power? Who is the 'we' in 'What can we do'? We took notes from the responses and transcribed them. The resulting text reflects the variety of viewpoints of the people who spoke to us, and is also inevitably shaped by our own biases and interpretations of what people said. Thanks to everyone who took part. WHAT CAN WE DO? Acceptance Access to Council Chambers: we can really go in and make a difference, this is the place to do it. Avoid black and white views Beyond one generation — a long project Change comes from within — or not? City councilors actually make very little money Community green energy project, starting in Kitchener, then moving to other regions in Ontario Continually starting again Conventional or unconventional lines of communication: how do you communicate to others and how important is it to be conventional so that other people can understand Do your best Don't sit around waiting or the government to do something Examples: if people see examples of positive change taking place, it's easier for them to see that alternatives are really possible Find out the truth about the chemtrails and the mind control towers Fix the sidewalks Form a community of like-minded people in the middle of nowhere Get involved in municipal politics Getting people together, doing something that involves education Go sailing How does AOL prevent social change? How much power do we really have? How serious can an artist be? How do people get involved? How to work for the needs of everyone in your neighbourhood, your country and on a larger scale? If we're going faster, maybe we're easier to control — ways of slowing down, remembering the past If you don't listen to others, nothing can change In the year 2000, seeing people starting to dress formally and act polite and cautious towards each other, thinking 'the revolution is over' Is there anything we can't do? It can be very simple It's one thing to have intelligence, another thing to do intelligence Just stop Keep buying lotto tickets Listen Local politics; there is more room for public participation than at a provincial or federal level, yet few people vote Make statistics real, give them a human face Polis vs. market place People need to be amused and pacified — this needs to be changed Resist relearn reclaim Smoking should be banned because it kills people Start again Stats — the problem of stats Stop the atrocities Taking control of yourself — you can just walk right in That I am doing it as much for others as for myself The government can be depended on to look after us The same old answers The same old questions There is a time for something and a time for nothing Think about what you pay attention to Think twice do once Three causes for change: lack, need and desire Together in adversity Trust Try to understand other people's situations Turn off your TV and make your own media Unlearn your habits Value many different kinds of experience We can try to do better than before We can't understand another person's situation unless we're in their shoes We only care about someone we can relate to Website/chat room: continue the conversation online What do we want? What if what 'we' do divides 'us' What is to be done? (Lenin) Wiser not smarter Work — move ahead, rest — stay still, play-move laterally Work with hunches Yielding: working not fighting" Far from being an actual manifesto or prescription for change, this list nonetheless represents the extreme diversity of ideas and perceptions that make up today's 'vox populi', and therefore the difficult job of democracy. Perhaps art is simply a form of protest (and vice versa) and artists are the ever watchful guardians of free expression. ‘Power Atomic / Power at Home’ was a postering campaign by Ottawa artist Adrian Göllner that saw banner ads placed in buses and on construction hoarding. Using a visual vernacular of soviet propaganda, Göllner’s work reminds us of the stark reality that much of our electricity is indeed generated by nuclear technology — the very same technology that could guarantee world destruction. We always have 'at home' ,therefore, a direct link to our own annihilation. The promise of nuclear power in the fifties, utopian dreams of progress, leisure, and the future have all fallen away and have left us uncertain. Göllner, by presenting us with slogans that don't sell and by reminding us of the failure of soviet ideals, re-pits capitalism against communism and we are left somewhere in the middle. At the time of printing Göllner’s posters can still be seen in downtown Kitchener. Tattered and torn, they proudly spell out the words "POWER", "HOME" and "ATOMIC", while bits of bright red graphics — corners of stars, curved bands of colour — peek through. They have become vestiges of a past campaign, the broken promises of mid-20th Century science. In Göllner's words: "the images further confuse the question of who is in control of electrical power in Ontario: Is it some far-left consortium, or is it a company simply borrowing the radical chic of Soviet design as part of an ad campaign?" Göllner's work perhaps best typifies the ongoing struggle between the political left and right, between the public and private, and between our roles as contributors to the economy as consumers and tax-payers and our roles as contributors to our communities as citizens. To date, Hydro One has not been privatized, but it is an ongoing possibility that may become a future provincial election issue. So, the slogan that characterized Berlin (Ontario) in the early part of the century ("public enterprise started here"), can be updated, in the Waterloo Region, to say "public enterprise continues here." Whether that enterprise is Hydro One, or an annual public exhibition of contemporary art held at the core of municipal government, the phrase would still ring true. Andrew Wright Andrew Wright is an artist in Kitchener-Waterloo and the artistic coordinator for Contemporary Art Forum | Kitchener and Area