The ArtBlog.org Reviews ‘On This Site’
The ArtBlog.org Reviews ‘On This Site’
Noreen Kress reflects on art and monuments in a city full of history
In the lenghty review on the artblog, Kress observes how a simple walk to the supermarket, in a city like Philadelphia, can also turn into a visit to a historic site. She sees the work Lewis Colburn is making, specifically what is on exhibit at NAPOLEON, in much the same light, but with a twist.
This challenge to the notion of a monument is inevitable–cities evolve, and with this evolution, history evolves, too. This begs us to define or redefine the relationship between cities and their monuments: are monuments subject to urban change, or must the city change around its monuments? In the age of ephemeral and digital information, can a mobile monument reference the site and history to which it has been dedicated–even when it does not physically reside there? The work, blurring the borders of sculpture, performance, and conceptual art, does not seek to answer these questions. Instead, On This Site suggests that a monument is an object where the past and present coincide in public life.
