I'd say the Armory won.
To me, Creative Time's group exhibit "Democracy in America" at the Park Avenue Armory was hampered both by a space far more interesting than its art and a collection of art that, for all its claims to radical action, was rather tame and predictable. A few pieces were successful in their aims: the Sharon Hayes video installation on the fourth floor was projected inventively and appropriately cacophonous; the installation dealing with the investigation of Steve Kurtz was interactive and got its point across strongly as the viewer sifts through a room torn up; and John Kessler's piece in the center room consisting of GI Joes, bizarre mechanical apparatuses, and a series of video cameras and monitors was intriguing and thought-provoking. Most everything else was obvious in its politics and not nearly as captivating as the relics of American military history that surrounded it. Would I rather look at a giant wooden hobby horse or dusty pieces of armor? Oddly it was the latter.
Only a few pieces verged on anything "participatory," and even those fell short of sparking real participation in a way the title invocation of "democracy" would suggest. When you first walk in, you're invited to get up on a soapbox and say whatever you want for a minute, which I thought was a great idea in theory... but being so dwarfed by the setting and smack in a crowd of people who will most likely judge whatever you have to say, hardly anyone got up to this intimidating set-up. For the record, I went up there, but felt like an idiot in the process; I was more on physical display than participating in anything.
The speeches I saw on Saturday night, which I was looking the most forward to, fell as short as most of the art. David Harvey's talk regarding urban poverty and the people's right to the cities, while profoundly eloquent in its ideology, gave the audience no real substance from which to create change. In response to a question regarding rural poverty, he cited the interconnectedness of Connecticut suburbs to New York City, which (to me) was borderline offensive; and much of his talk completely elided the specifics of our current economic crisis. W.A.G.E.'s speech, of which I heard only snippets, was nauseatingly whiny; the Yes Men's piece was humourous and well-delivered, but its audience participation part made me cringe. As everyone stated what they wanted to hear in a magical "good news" newspaper of the future, members of the audience rattled off a laundry list of leftist goals, followed by nods and sparse applause from the audience. Everything said was so predictable that when one man spoke about Israel and Palestine, the audience was noticeably startled - his statement wasn't on the pre-approved list of "safe" issues held by the target demographic.
Upon leaving this seemingly inspiring group therapy session, everyone shuffled out of the Armory onto Park Avenue and into the wealthiest zipcode in Manhattan, passing homeless people living in cardboard boxes and heading home. Why did nothing in the show address this glaring discrepancy just outside the venue? Why did this exhibit do so little to connect with its surrounding area or at least provoke debate about it? The walk back from "Democracy in America" left a bad taste in my mouth stronger than any feeling I got from anything experienced inside.
