Green Day art show: Criticism, media coverage and curation (2009)

During the excitement around the show in London last month, thoughtful criticism emerged about the project in relation to the journalistically processed publicity. But since, the lead writer admits, "I’ve been dragging my butt publishing this one."

Green Day art show: Criticism, media coverage and curation

(R.J. Preece—) The Green Day art project remains an important reference point. Why? First, it’s a fascinating case study in what was done across the musicians, visual artists, public/media relations, and journalistic outputs. Second, the elements open art to a new and rather interesting art audience for us here. Structurally, it may have elements that are applicable to building new middle-class art customers and audiences. Third, structurally, who knows, it might possibly contain the historical elements of Damien Hirst’s landmark Freeze exhibition (1988). Whether it was this show, or one to come, or this is totally off the mark, has yet to be determined.

Within this ADP excitement and while the show was up, Delfina—a Green Day fan and trained in fine art—was firing off emails to me very confused about quotes by the show’s curator in the media coverage. I shared my confusion, but recall replying, "Well, we just don’t know." Quotes in the media can be what someone said and meant; what someone said but didn’t necessarily mean; sometimes proposed by PRs for a press release and accepted by the "speaker"; sometimes PRs and journos make mistakes with specific accuracies of statements in their fast-paced workflows; sometimes a sub-editor or editor adjust the text meeting a deadline; etc. Really anything can happen with a range of... text surfaces. Factor in all the people making decisions involved in any project, plus the responses by the participating artists, it wasn’t clear to me if the inspiration for the artworks came from only the lyrics or the music as well, or if there was a mixed approach.

Personally, my core interest in the show is the general concept of it empowering the artists—via a somewhat modified, new kind of outlet and partnership—and the interaction with a new kind of audience. But yes, I thought Delfina’s questions were important.

So I said to Delfina: put together your questions and I’ll send them after the show, after the artists have sold their work (presumably), and we’ll try to find out and make it an article.

Green Day art show at artdesigncafe