Art & Politics- Krzysztof Wodiczko

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NewYork.

Projection, South Africa House, London (1985).

(The image is hard to see, there is a better picture on page 382 in the Art & Today book.)

Wodiczko creates public art works by projecting different images on to monumental sites around the world, in such places as London and NewYork. The images he choses to project can be seen as quite controversial and offence to some viewers. In his work Projection, South Africa, London, 1985 a projection of the Nazi flag was displayed on the front, top of the South Africa building in Trafalagar Square, London. This projection was displayed for only two hours at the top of the building. Projection, South Africa, London, 1985 was a more discreet work, because of the postion and timing the work was displayed, then some of the other works Wodiczko has created. The Nazi flag on its own has strong political by projecting the work on to the South Africa House in London which is a government building creates a deeper stronger statement about how the govenment has acted in the past and how it was in 1985 when the work was made.

The buildings that are selected to display the work have a great impact on the meaing of the work and how the audience reactes. Buildings such as the South Africa House in London and the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch have a specific purpose and some have a somewhat sacred purpose, like a memorial. With these works it is easy to see that there is a strong political message, it is always easy to see how many people could be offerened by Wodiczko's works.