Definitions
Julia Weist American
Not on view
In 2019 Weist was commissioned by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs to create a public artwork inspired by the city’s Municipal Archives. During a year-long residency within the Department of Records and Information Services, she created the Public Record, a series of eleven photographs that explore the government’s relationship with artists over the past century, focusing on criteria for evaluating art, surveillance of individual artists, and notes on the role of artists in civic life.
Definitions is an assemblage of records from city government agencies that attempt to define the terms “art,” “artist,” and “artwork.” Tucked among pink record retrieval request forms submitted by the artist, the definitions range from the poetic to the absurd, offering an enlightening view of the intersections between art and civic bureaucracy.
