Culture in Action

“The difference was especially pronounced when one recognized that much of the work in “Culture in Action” was defined not in terms of material objects but the ephemeral processes of interaction between the local participants and the artists” (Kwon 104). What Kwon is saying her is that what was important about the projects of “Culture in Action” in Chicago was not the products produced but the interaction and conversation between the artist and people of Chicago that were affected by the projects. The Haha and Flood project followed this template just like all the other projects of “Culture in Action”. Flood grew plants in a hydroponic garden. The point to the project was not to grow food for those affected by AIDS or HIV. This is obvious because the garden could only few a small group of people, about 75 people every six weeks. The hydroponic system requires a lot to time and constant attention. Flood is “about that commitment, and the body of people gathered to tend the garden” (Palmer 55). The local participants were those who cared for the garden, those who stepped into the store off the streets, and those who received the greens. The artist made a metaphor out of the garden relating to the HIV/AIDS epidemic: “The body with a compromised immune system can be compared to a plant growing in a highly controlled sustem, without dirt as a buffer or resource, in which every substance that enters the body is subject to scrutiny, distrust, [and] excessive consideration” (Palmer 55).

Kwon, Miwon. One Place After Another.
Palmer, Laurie. “Dirt/Flood/Leaks”. High Perfomance. Spring 1994: 55-57.