Yesterday's ProJo story about an artist who, with his friends, created a secret apartment in the Providence Place Mall was one of the best flat-out fascinating human-interest pieces that we've seen in Rhode Island in a long time.
Further kudos to the Journal for giving this tale the appropriate multimedia treatment with a series of links, including a map of the apartment, the artists' Web site, Yoto's Web site on "Malllife," comment space for reader reaction, and more.
About 57 percent of respondents on the ProJo online survey say that living at the mall was not art. Dan Yorke offered a somewhat dismissive reaction yesterday. When one caller observed that the artist and his friends resembled possibly both leeches on the land and the personification of the independent American spirit, Yorke sided solely with the former view.
Other reactions have been more enthusiastic:
Scott Duhamel:
Hats off to Michael Townsend. Four years of living, building, and interacting in a forgotten space in the Providence Place Mall, a grandly subversive bit of art from this so-called “public artist” in a room without a view, it was undeniably the kind of local news story guaranteed to make your day, maybe even your week. I can say without a trace of sarcasm or irony that this was indeed the kind of art (whether classified as public, performance, temporary, an installation, etc.) that was keen, provocative, and yup, humorous. When caught, Townsend went down for the count appropriately, offering up a possibly sincere mea culpa, resisting the predictable prank-in-yer-face antics or MIT-styled faux revolutionary crapola. Give the man credit for a sublimely conceived and consummately executed vision, and give him a nod for the all too infrequent ability of conveying a sense of aesthetics to those of us out here sweating our way through our daily middle class machinations.
Bob Kerr:
Providence Place, of course, had a wonderful opportunity here. The retail mecca had an artist-in-residence program and didn’t even know it.
When mall security uncovered the creative outpost beneath the I-beam, it uncovered a public relations windfall that might have been celebrated on a huge banner hung from the third level and declaring there was something unique about Providence Place. Mall officials could have had some fun with this whimsical find in an unexpected place. It could have gone with the moment.
But the opportunity has apparently been lost. There will be no mall packages offering a movie, an overflowing feed at The Cheesecake Factory and a visit to a living work of art in a parking garage.
A mall spokesman called the nearby apartment illegal and irresponsible. He said the mall felt “violated.” He really did.
It’s surprising to discover that Providence Place can be so sensitive.
The apartment has been closed down. Minor criminal trespassing charges were even brought.
But when the story broke yesterday, it was a good story that made people smile, laugh and offer tributes to the determined genius of settling down in a parking garage.
There was an instant appreciation for putting something so unpredictable in the heart of a very predictable place.
It wasn’t a violation. It was a celebration.
Townsend, meanwhile, remains polite and appreciative:
Thank You:
Thank you mall. I have grown exponentially from having this opportunity and it has been a major and most valuable part of my life and imagination. In the future I hope to share some of my experiences and observations with a wider audience and can only say that living in the mall is great. I am saddened that I am not allowed to ever return to the mall again, but I understand. The mall made me think very carefully about what we buy.
Apologies:
First and foremost I extend my most sincere apologies to the fine folks at General Growth Properties and specifically to the security staff at the Providence Place Mall. I have always firmly believed that you do an incredible job and have remained professional and consistent. This apartment was never designed in any way-shape-or-form to undermine the great work that you do. I recognize that it exists far outside the spectrum of expectation and as such - no fair, discriminatory, or level headed staff person would have expected something like this to occur. It is important to me that you know that I have a great deal of respect for the work you do and I am very sorry that I wasted some of your valuable time today. This project is in no way a critique on security or what defines safety in contemporary society.
In addition, my thanks goes out to the Providence Police Department for being a model of civility, fairness, good humor and professionalism. Again, I am embarrassed that I chewed up so much of your time in the steps necessary to help assess what transpired. I genuinely appreciate the honest and straight-forward candor of all those I have met and want you to know that I really admire the manner in which you have handled this peculiar case.
If you have any questions I can try to answer them:
trummerkind@gmail.com
Some frequently asked questions:
Yes, I have done other secret installations: The Tunnel.
Yes, our group has undertaken other massive projects: www.tapeart.com/hope
No, I am not homeless. Yes, I have a job. www.tapeart.com