John Freyer's lecture was fascinating. His openness seeped through in the content and tone of his speech and I respect him a great deal for it. In addition, his craft, thought, and vision were particularly impressive.
I was amazed at the enormity of Freyer's work. When we think of art in the traditional sense, we think of paintings and sculptures in museums. The meaning of art is tied a great deal to the physical artwork, the aesthetics of it, the process of creation behind it, and the content it carries. But Freyer's work is more complex than this. For example, in Free Hot Coffee, the artwork is not just the bike or the coffee itself. The meaning of the artwork extends way beyond this. It isn't just the coffee, it's the conversation behind it. It's the mutual understanding and the personal camaraderie. It's the physical experience of grinding the coffee. It's the aromatic experience of the coffee. It's the temperature of the coffee; it's called "Hot" coffee for a reason. It's the sense of purpose for those in recovery. It incorporates allies along with those who are recovering. It's an artwork that has inspired international action on this issue. It is a symbol for civil protest on the Virginia Capitol for better substance laws. In this way, Free Hot Coffee is not about the physical artwork. It's about the huge, complex web of humans and experiences surrounding it. Free Ice Water has a similar effect. The artwork is focused on the physical object much more, but the object is just a token of the conversation. Again, the artwork is the conversation, the personal connection, and the art of listening. The jar just serves as a reminder of that personal connection. According to Freyer, participants cherish their jars for this reason. The most remarkable part of Freyer's work for me is this escape from the physical object of the art. It is another level to think of artmaking as a social process instead of a physical one. As a student, I've developed the physical process of creativity a good deal. But at this point in my artistic career, I rarely operate in the next level. Truly meaningful art rarely fits into our traditional perception of what art is.
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