This webpage[1] contains the public report of research on “The Use of Art on Disputed Boundaries” that is being conducted by Simon B. Haefele since August 2009. “The Use of Art” is considered to be a working title. The discussion stems from questions about the impact and effect of visual arts on society and about the role of and possibilities for artists within existing power structures.
About “The Effect of Art on Disputed Bounderies”
a field study by Simon B. Häfele
Last changed: 12.08.2009
Currently I am working on my PhD about “the effect of art on disputed boundaries”. I am searching for works of radically free working people, whose concern is to interlink cultures by creating space for discussion and dispute. In order to drive my research I am comparing the situation of artists on the Estonian-Russian border to those in Israel and Palestine and those on the US-Mexico border.
I primarily interview people working inside the “operating system of art”. Therefore viewers and the public are of interest but art professionals like the artists themselves, curators, art historians, journalists as well as clients or operators like collectors, gallerists, funders, politicians, diplomats, directors of museums and academics are the primary focus.
Within my research I would like to ask about the power of a single individual. How much energy can one set in motion in order to affect temporary or remaining changes in existing power structures?