Not to mention
How a visual artist relates to his surroundings can be seen in his work. Anyone who has visited art events such as the Venice Biennale or Documenta in Kassel in recent years will see that this relationship is more often than not inspired by social commitment. Contemporary artists regularly link themselves to social themes, large and small, and push the viewer's nose on those themes.
What about works of art that are monuments in addition to being art? How involved should an artist be when making a monument? And for whom is the monument made? The commission to make a monument usually comes from governments and then there is always a long time between the event that needs to be commemorated and the commission to make the monument that encourages collective remembrance. And then it has to be made.
How involved should an artist be when creating a monument?
Sometimes an artist commissions himself or herself to make a monument. The artist can then immediately set to work on the basis of an idea. Chances are that the result will be more raw, direct and sincere than a commission from a government. An example is Grenfell by Steve McQueen. He created a memorial to the bereaved families of the June 14, 2017 fire at London's twenty-four-story Grenfell Tower that killed seventy-two people and seriously injured seventy-seven. The work, the twenty-four-minute film Grenfell which shows the burned tower in all its rawness, premiered at a London gallery and was purchased by two London museums.
Sometimes an artist commissions himself or herself to create a monument
Not every artist can give himself such a commission and execute it. Mc Queen was able to do it because he is well known and has the resources. Fortunately, there are artists who still manage to create a monument with fewer resources. For example, every year on Amsterdam's Kastanjeplein, Ida van der Lee creates a monument to Jewish residents who did not return to their neighborhoods after the war. You can hear this story of remembrance in the fourth episode of our podcast What's that doing here?
Often with monuments, however, it is waiting for the government
Often with monuments, however, it is waiting for the government. This takes a long time and in the meantime, details and emotions are partly forgotten. Perhaps sometimes governments want us to forget. McQueen is convinced that was the case with the Grenfell Tower disaster, so he sprang into action as quickly as he could.
One would like it to be standard practice in major events, disasters, to immediately commission an artist, add budget and that's it. No briefing, no preconditions, except that during the whole process of making, showing and after-care there is communication with victims and relatives with maximum integrity and respect.
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