By Bob Gregson
New Haven Arts 1990
“Public events are at their best when they are expressions that define the community.” Bob Gregson
“I have created public events since 1970. The nature of these events is a collaborative one with many different points of view being framed into a single vision. As an events artist, my role has emerged over the years as a catalyst, shaman, facilitator, orchestrator. I work through and with others to make my art. This has always been a tricky business - release and control, sharing ideas and building trust so everyone feels they have a well-defined goal in which they can contribute in their own way and no one feels exploited.” Bob Gregson
An equestrian statue posed on the middle of a pastoral park. An enormous abstract shape plunked in a sterile urban plaza as a humanistic foil to a glass enclosed [sic] backdrop. There are usually the images of public art. In the last decade the images have widened to include street art, guerrilla theater, billboards, demonstrations, oral histories, environments, posters, murals, and performances.
My particular concern deals with public events - those special events I call cultural landmarks - celebrations that bear witness to significant moments shared by an entire community.
I have created public events since 1970. The nature of these events is a collaborative one with many different points of view being framed into a single vision. As an events artist, my role has emerged over the years as a catalyst, shaman, facilitator, orchestrator. I work through and with others to make my art. This has always been a tricky business - release and control, sharing ideas and building trust so everyone feels they have a well-defined goal in which they can contribute in their own way and no one feels exploited. Usually artists have a single vision, expressing it in an uncompromised personal manner to show the general public his or her new insight. As a collaborative artist, people are my medium. It is through the special and diverse talents of a group of people, artists and non-artists, that the art emerges. For me this is an adventure. This is not to say that I am a traffic cop simply directing artists/non-artists randomly whizzing back and forth. My role is a delicate balance. I must first recognize what the community wants, interpret that into an event, and structure that event to invite as much participation as possible.
All of this sounds very simple until money is involved. Event sponsorship, as in the case of most public art, creates a tone of “whose event is this anyhow?” Most sponsors are corporations responsible to a board of directors or governments with constituencies. Thus, creating a public event can become very complicated.
In 1978 I was the director and co-founder of a community arts program in Hartford entitled Sidewalk, Inc. The goal was to weave art into the everyday occurrences of a dull cityscape. One of our programs was called Thursday is a Work of Art, and every Thursday throughout the summer, hundreds of outrageous, surprising and playful arts activities would be presented where art usually doesn’t happen - on street corners, alleys, urban plazas, windows, and throughout the streets. It included dancers and musicians playing with traffic and pedestrians; skywriters, site-specific theater pieces in fountains, and performance art. Of the 500 activities we presented that summer this proved most memorable. Storyteller Ed Stivender presented a performance in the street in front of a building which housed our sponsor - United Technologies Corp (UTC). Ed wore gray face (as opposed to white face) and began to tell the story of Harry Gray (then C.E.O. of the corporation), as told by, as Ed put it, “his brothers Dorian and Zane.” This rather clever idea at the time seemed harmless.
Unfortunately, UTC did not appreciate the humor. They were embarrassed by both the performance and the ensuing press coverage. They felt that Ed’s satire was in bad taste and began to question the value of their connection to our other arts activities which seemed to them whimsical and silly.
This would not be extraordinary if it stopped there. But the press covered the problem on the first page. UTC, whose aim was to create a friendly and positive community image, was becoming the villain in the artists vs corporation war - and Sidewalk Inc. was in the middle. Throughout the summer editorials were written and TV news coverage was fueled. Even artist Hans Haake, famed for his anti-corporate art, came to the defense of the artist's free expression and denounced corporate censorship.
My dilemma was clear: by accepting the sponsorship of UTC, I had become responsible to teh corporation, and yet I was equally responsible to the artists. I needed to protect both and still create the most honest and dynamic public event I could. As you might guess, the problem was never resolved. The Hartford corporations feared the same treatment and future funding for our programs was politely declined.
Amid my frustration and anger I left Hartford in 1979 and in January, 1980, came to New Haven. Not wanting to be compromised again, I slowly discovered neighborhoods. Here people were creating their own small public events and sponsoring themselves without the entanglement of an outside funder. These small groups were willing to try offbeat activities such as wrapping a building with fabric or organizing a parade of boats down a river, just as a matter of course. In many ways they were pure without the angst of fancy art theories. I enjoyed their directness. Whether their events were great works of art mattered less to me than their honesty of expression and their enthusiasm.
It wasn’t until 1987, while planning New Haven’s 350th birthday that I received the opportunity I longed for. New Haven Celebrates New Haven, the enormous birthday on the Green, was the perfect combination of community participation, sponsorship, sensitivity and artistic input. It began with the leadership of Tom Geyer, publisher of the New Haven Register. His sponsorship and trust the most through even of my career. New Haven Celebrates New Haven was a sort of a “world fair” of New Haven.
I wanted to create a microcosm of the best of New Haven on the Green. For me it was a model of who we were and what we would become. This meant that it was going to be a process. Diverse groups from all over the city would have time to become familiar with the event and feel comfortable enough to participate. We would all need to have faith that it would grow, take form, and happen. This is scary for a major funder. What if nothing happens? Don’t you think we should get a big name draw to insure our success? There was none of that with the Register. They patiently waited as things developed over nine months.
Thanks to the UTC disaster, I was aware of potential trouble; I had to be very clear with everyone about the rules. Artists, community leaders, and sponsors were kept well informed and understood that this was a team effort. I tried to be honest with everyone about the possible pitfalls and controversies. I met with community groups that wanted to give out condoms to prevent AIDS; and I gingerly moved the Knights of Columbus booth away from the pro-choice booth. But I still wanted the event to be real and unpredictable. I wanted some edge to it that would be exciting and challenging. This element came from the local arts community.
Beverly Richey is an events artist that I respect a great deal. Her work does not shy away from tough issues and she is able to create collaborative situations that are not exploitative. Knowing that cake is one of her many routes to public participation, I asked that she design a birthday cake which best symbolized New Haven. As always, the adventure of working with people never fails me; Bev’s cake was more than I had hoped for. The A-mazing Bureaucratic Birthday Cake, as it was called, came complete with cake commissioners and bureaucratic forms: (“When is the last time you’ve eaten cake? Do you use a fork? Do you use your fingers? etc”) to be filled out by the audience waiting in line through a red tape maze. The cake was distributed from a 20- foot replica of the city hall facade decorated with cake icing. A list of local media celebrities including the Mayor of New Haven were engaged to pass out the cake to the waiting minions. Again we faced a potentially embarrassing situation. Members of the Mayor's staff were worried. Would the Mayor look silly? Is this a criticism of City Hall? Would the public become angry?
Bev and I discussed it and both believed people would understand the humor. Fortunately the Mayor also understood and eagerly played along with the game, enhancing his humanistic character as the groaning masses pretended they were trapped by red tape.
New Haven Celebrates New Haven was a success because it was a team effort. Public events do not always run as smoothly. In fact, it's that unexpected situation that sometimes disrupts plans, that can also bring out true character and spirit - a demonstration, rain, or individual public participation - anything that might galvanize the event into a real event.
Public events are at their best when they are expressions that define the community. In countries throughout the world, celebrations are an integral part of the evolution and character of that culture. Here in the U.S. we are the famous melting pot of other cultures and, except for the Indians, do not have a grass-roots culture of our own. So we invent our forms of public events by borrowing the vocabularies from other cultures. It is my goal to invent American events - celebrations that not only express us but actually attempt to bind us together.
Now the future of public events is in jeopardy. Government and corporate funding is being reduced, and small neighborhood events cannot be sustained in the recession of the 90s. Yet there are many important issues in which public events can play a major role such as the abortion issue, gay rights, homelessness, poverty and many other social issues. Public events will be needed to lead social changes, build confidence and rejuvenate communities. It’s the planning and leadership of these events that will take sensitivity and a generosity by sponsors, citizens and artists alike.
Bob Gregson is Special Events Director for the city of New Haven.
Link to FB post in New Haven Artist Online ARchive:
MORE ARTICLES ABOUT BEVERLY RICHEY HERE:
This article was retyped for readability
by Bev Richey and Clare Richey-Kaplan
