Interstitial Art -Mall Life

I am fascinated by art that occurs outside of our preconceived notions of what art is and have written about my desire to see more happenstance art before. Interstitial art, vaguely coined as a means of describing that which falls between genres, is of greater and greater interest to me because it provides all of us (artists, institutions, patrons, viewers...) with the opportunity to look at things in new and different ways. It encourages a questioning and reshaping of the status quo.

I recently read an article about a couple, Michael Townsend & Adriana Yoto, who lived in a hidden room in a mall on and off for four years before being discovered. They were the ringleaders of a group of artists living in the mall and had moved in to gain a better understanding of its impact on the community and as a means of social commentary. They were even featured on national news after their discovery.

At the time, the squatters hadn't considered their actions as art, but have since come to see them in that way. When they first moved in, they wanted to learn what the mall had to offer outside of just shopping and eating. They wanted to see what the mall offered beyond commerce and to gain a better understanding of the community that is fostered there.

I find this particularly interesting given the current state of all too many malls nowadays. With the economy down and people shopping less, mall traffic and sales have decreased. A lot of malls are losing retailers and seem to be slowly dying. Vacant spaces are curtained off, their windows used to display wares advertising remaining stores and restaurants.

Some art groups have examined and utilized these spaces (Art Dimensions had been located in a downtown mall, using vacant windows as small galleries in which to display artworks, until it was closed for renovation). I think it's good that artists can reassess and reshape our experiences around such spaces and hope that they will be allowed more freedom to do so in the future. It is truly unfortunate that so many projects are brought to such abrupt endings, sometimes even resulting in lawsuits, when no real harm, vandalism or damage has been done. We all need to have the opportunity to reassess and reshape the world around us.