Candace Mooers, the executive director of Gallery Connexion, believes that it’s the artist’s job to push the boundaries of how people think.
Last week, Dusty Green, president’s of the university’s Fine Arts Society, was arrested for painting over graffiti on two water towers in Odell Park.
Although Mooers wouldn’t speak on Green’s case, she believes public art is a very important part of Fredericton’s landscape.
“[Artists] push people to think differently about assumptions and things that we take for granted,” said Mooers. “Like notions of private property, perhaps.
“I think there’s always room for public art no matter the locale. [There’s] always room for alternative art.”
To her, artists are supposed to change the way people think about certain things and to “paint outside the lines.” This is something that is rather prominent in the ideals of public art.
“They kind of challenge the public to reconsider notions of public property and private property by placing art in locales that might challenge viewers perspective.”
Gallery Connexion has put on several “art interventions,” which are along the same lines as public art. Some of which involved various portable stereos all playing a “chorus of sound.”
The sound was distorted and uncomfortable.
“Art is partly supposed to make people uncomfortable. [In essence,] art is anything you can get away with,” Mooers said.
During this “Unsilent Night,” art intervention, they didn’t “really [seek] permission from the powers that be.”
Permission is the main difference between public art and normal painting, Mooers said.
Green refused to comment for a follow-up story, while the Fredericton Police also couldn’t be reached for comment on graffiti in the city.
