The notion of social sculpture or artwork that involves audiences’ input is not new, but has been witnessed in a variety of movements and works since Joseph Beuys declaration that "everyone is an artist" was made almost 50 years ago. More recently, a shift from a product to service based economy has been mirrored in the arts where experiences have replaced objects as the focus of aesthetic appreciation with many artists seeking new ways to inspire audience beyond visual means alone.

In the last decade, a democracy of creative expression has gathered momentum, not only in the arts but in places as diverse as social networking sites and reality TV. People have grown comfortable with the appearance of their own creative expression in public spaces and have meanwhile grown increasingly circumspect of the notion of artists as select individuals with higher creative authority. For those many individuals who have ever left a gallery feeling disappointed enough with what they have seen to say: "I could have made that", this exhibition invites them to do so.

But audience input alone is not what makes the works in this exhibition compelling, although it is what allows the works to exist at all. While the artists have provided guidelines, instructions, suggestions or prompts, it is for the audience operating as individuals, or as a community, to themselves effect and interpret the works. This ‘crowd sourcing’ aspect of the creative production makes for a fascinating range of interpretations and results. While each of these works as ideas are repeatable, the outcomes are always unique as each new audience of participants exerts different possibilities of meaning and form. Some of these works can compared to the online experiences and applications from which they are seemingly inspired, however their social physicality makes them quite different. Conversations are woven both through the works as well as verbally around them, with each works’ ‘touchabilty’ allowing for intimate exchanges well beyond transactions of an online nature. The results often appear like message boards where conversations are played out in a public forum. While these dialogues can sometimes be negative reactions to the work, they also immediately become the part of the work itself. Such self-reflexivity is not only unavoidable, it’s intentional. This blurring of the line between creator and viewer does not just reposition the audiences as artists, but also sets up the artists as audience. Ultimately the works in Pro-Tribute present possibilities of connection between artists, audience and works that few exhibition experiences offer.

Hugh Davies
Curator