Hung Up on Art

Chris Burden, L.A.P.D. Uniform, 1993. Wool, metal, leather, wood and
plastic. My 5'11 daughter is standing in front of the exhibit for reference.

Can a uniform on a hanger be considered art? Chris Burden seems to think so and many people agree. I'm one of those people. I'm talking about his installation piece called "L.A.P.D. Uniform" that is on display in various museums across the United States. This is not a new piece of work, mind you. It was inspired by and created after the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The artist used oversized uniforms to suggest an intimidating, cold and faceless authority. I see it as an artistic protest to the L.A. police department of the early 1990's, specifically the officers who were acquitted of the charges of using excessive force in the infamous beating of Rodney King in 1991. The general view of the L.A.P.D. at that time was that is was a corrupt organization that misused their authority and in my opinion, Burden does a good job representing that. You are free to interpret it your own way, of course, but it seems as if a majority of people have a similar reaction to the display. Most see it as authority figures that forbiddingly loom over those they is supposed to protect. One review I read even remarks on how small and helpless the viewer is made to feel while looking at it.


Does this mean that you can go to your closet, pull out a suit, hang it on a wall and you suddenly have an artistic masterpiece on your hands? Not exactly. Well, perhaps it depends on the suit's designer, but typically it takes much more than that to create a work of art. Pieces like L.A.P.D. Uniform are created with a purpose in mind. This kind of work is making a social statement and the artist is trying to evoke an emotional response from the viewer and make them see a somewhat familiar object in a whole new way. In this case, he was trying to make the viewer feel the helplessness many people felt with the organization that uniform represented. 


For more on Chris Burdon's L.A.P.D. Uniform:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/07/art-review-possible-worlds-at-los-angeles-county-museum-of-art.html
http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=214359;type=101


For more on installation art:
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-installation-art.html