Whose Art Is It? (Public Planet) by Jane Kramer

Public Planet Books

by Jane Kramer

Whose Art Is It? is the story of sculptor John Ahearn, a white artist in a black and Hispanic neighborhood of the South Bronx, and of the people he cast for a series of public sculptures commissioned for an intersection outside a police station. Jane Kramer, telling this story, raises one of the most urgent questions of our How do we live in a society we share with people who are, often by their own definitions, "different?" Ahearn’s subjects were "not the best of the neighborhood." They were a junkie, a hustler, and a street kid. Their images sparked a controversy throughout the community—and New York itself—over issues of white representations of people of color and the appropriateness of particular images as civic art. The sculptures, cast in bronze and painted, were up for only five days before Ahearn removed them. This compelling narrative raises questions about community and public art policies, about stereotypes and multiculturalism. With wit, drama, sympathy, and circumspection, Kramer draws the reader into the multicultural debate, challenging our assumptions about art, image, and their relation to community. Her portrait of the South Bronx takes the argument to its grass roots—provocative, surprising in its contradictions and complexities and not at all easy to resolve.Accompanied by an introduction by Catharine R. Stimpson exploring the issues of artistic freedom, "political correctness," and multiculturalism, Whose Art Is It? is a lively and accessible introduction to the ongoing debate on representation and private expression in the public sphere.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Jane Kramer has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1964 and has written the Letter from Europe since 1981.

Before joining the magazine, Kramer was a staff writer for the Village Voice; her first book, “Off Washington Square,” is a collection of her articles from that paper. She has published two collections of essays from The New Yorker, “Allen Ginsberg in America,” (1969) and “Honor to the Bride,” (1970), which was based on her experiences in Morocco in the late nineteen-sixties.

Since 1970, most of Kramer’s work for the magazine has covered various aspects of European culture, politics, and social history. Many of these articles have been collected in three books: “Unsettling Europe,” (1980); “Europeans,” (1988), which won the Prix Européen de l’Essai “Charles Veillon” and was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle award for nonfiction; and “The Politics of Memory: Looking for Germany in the New Germany,” (1996).

A notable exception to Kramer’s European reporting was her 1977 Profile of the pseudonymous Texan Henry Blanton. It was later published as a book, “The Last Cowboy,” (1977), which won the American Book Award for nonfiction. Parts of her book “Lone Patriot,” (2002), on the right-wing American militia leader John Pitner, also first appeared in the magazine. Her article on multiculturalism and political correctness, “Whose Art Is It?,” won the 1993 National Magazine Award for feature writing and was published as a book in 1994.

Jane Kramer lives in Paris, New York, and Umbria, Italy.

Reviews

[Hannah Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whose Art Is It? started out interesting, and slowly became tedious. I guess I didn't realize I was in for an excruciatingly detailed account of the whole John Ahearn bronzes "scandal" (if you can call it that...). I also got annoyed because I felt like the author, Jane Kramer, was quite apologetic to John. It seems John was innocent because he didn't think people would be angry and it wasn't his intent to create negative and stereotypical monuments. Not that she discounted why people might have been offended by the bronzes, but it felt clear to me that she didn't sympathize with them much.

Kramer raises (or her writing raised in me) some excellent questions though, such as: who is the "community"? Is "political correctness" a type of censorship? Who can be an advocate for who? Does it matter the context and intent from which an artist produces a work? Should art be colorblind or raceless? (Toni Morrison has something to say about that on page 46...) What problems arise out of artistic partnerships? Should an artist ever compromise his or her vision to make others “happy”? Where does an artist’s creative freedom end, or does it? What needs to be done to create multicultural art, is it possible, or is it desirable?

The overall conclusion of the book was that John wasn’t “wrong” to represent his neighbors, or to think he had the right to try. Sure, of course not, but I do think Kramer does a nice job to complicate this conclusion by bringing up issues about works being “site specific” (125) and the value of prior consultation of involved parties (116).

Definitely recommend for a reader interested in race and censorship issues

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is exactly the kind of piece/book I want to write. Compelling, subtle yet meaty, and stylistically great.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome book. But, I would recommend skipping the introductory essay. It's very dense and academic. Get right to the juicy meat of the Kramer's fascinating story. THEN, go back and masticate on the tougher flesh of the intro.

Kramer serves up a case study of public art being installed in the Bronx, and then being taken down in a few days by the artist's request. Who has the right to determine what art goes where? The points-of-view of the artist, a Bronx neighborhood activist, the subjects of the sculpture, and city bureaucrats are all represented. It's a quick read, and you will walk away with an opinion. Hopefully, you'll look at your home's public art in a different way...if you've been noticing it at all.

[Hubert]

Not written in a style that interests me - seems like a New Yorker article made into a miniature book-length prose piece. Nonetheless, topic seems interesting and continually relevant.