Site-specific
The term site-specific refers to a work of art designed specifically for a particular location and that has an interrelationship with the location. If these components are taken out of their original context, they lose their essence or significance(Tate, 2017).
Adam Chodzko, Better Scenery (1999), Tate
On the other hand, Hayes (2017) pointed out that site-responsive art involves performances that react to a specific space or environment, adapting to its unique characteristics and dynamics.
Compared to site-specific art, this kind of art responds to the environment more adaptably. Furthermore, site-sensitive art exhibits a strong bond with and reliance on the area, illustrating how creative processes are shaped by and customised for certain settings (Mikou, n.d.).
Nick Kaye(2013) points out how we can read a site-specific work of art in relation to geographical, aesthetic, political, and/or institutional discourses.Hence, it is possible to conceptualise site-specificity as a process and the resultant aesthetic qualities and meanings that arise from the interactions between an item or activity and its immediate surroundings. Since the locations and the artworks have a strong relationship, relocating the latter implies “re-placing” or drastically altering the former.
All in all, in my opinion, place-specific art can transform the way we perceive a location, adding layers of meaning and interaction that enrich our experience of a place.
References:
Hayes, L. (2017). From Site-specific to Site-responsive: Sound art performances as participatory milieu. Organised Sound, 22(1), pp.83–92. doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355771816000364.
Kaye, N. (2013). Site-Specific Art. Routledge.
Mikou, A. (n.d.). Site-Specific. [online] Dancing Museums. Available at: https://www.dancingmuseums.com/artefacts/site-specific/.
Tate (2017). Site-specific – Art Term | Tate. [online] Tate. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/site-specific.
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