Jillian Lindner - Trespassory Art

"Its [Art's] value, in other words, lies not so much in the creativity of the artist, but in the creativity of the audience—the viewer, listener, reader, or participant. This is especially so with public art, which inserts into the empirical reality of daily life an instance of sensual reflection, of imagination, of disrupted cognition, of serious aesthetic contemplation. As Dewey put it, “[t]he product of art—temple, painting, statue, poem, is not the work of art. The work takes place when a human being cooperates with the product so that the outcome is an experience that is enjoyed because of its liberating and ordered properties.” Dewey called the “idea of art as a conscious idea—the greatest intellectual achievement in the history of humanity."

I love this quote from the Conclusion paragraph of this document and in reading, it has made me think about the types of theatre that we are studying in a different way. In some cases, we, as theatre-makers, are an interruption to daily life (and it can even be an illegal disruption). Examining the legality of immersive art works was interesting. Often times, we think "This space would make this piece work great!" and not the other way around as "This piece would make this space work terribly." There's a surprisingly fine line between "gifting" a space your work of art and becoming a huge pain in the ass for everyone, even your audience.