post-art/pre-med

Mark Jenkins is hilarious, in a slightly creepy but mostly genius sort of way. He is an American street artist who creates public installations by creatively placing sculptures in various cities around the world. Jenkins is perhaps best known for sculptures he creates out of clear mailing tape, but in my opinion the funniest and most subtle yet effective works of his are the ones in which he places very realistic looking people and objects in odd, questionable situations.

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All images property Mark Jenkins. Source: http://www.xmarkjenkinsx.com.

Rome

Rome

Rome

Rome

Rome

Dublin

Winston-Salem

Bordeaux

Malmö

Malmö

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

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These installations all incorporate a strong element of humor, but one that is inseparable from a simultaneous feeling of unease and slight discomfort. Especially with pieces like those in Rome with the person lounging in the hammock or the person with their legs sticking out of the dumpster, there is a realism to these people that is hard to ignore, despite the ridiculous situations Jenkins manufactures. While the absurdity is more obvious in pieces such as the one with the man’s head stuck in the wall of the building, there is still an element of belief that the viewer cannot completely let go of due to the perfect scale and casual placement of Jenkins’ sculptures. They are funny… but only after the feelings of nervousness, confusion, and/or uneasiness are induced in the viewer first.

The “people” are placed out in the open without any signs or wall labels or indication of them being part of any sort of artistic series, and cities with high volumes of pedestrian traffic are the perfect locations for them. Jenkins does a brilliant job of making just about every passerby a part of his work, whether they stop and look or not. Those who do stop and look participate by acknowledging the work as something that is just not quite right and something that was purposefully placed in the respective environment. Those who do not stop and look conversely participate by allowing the work to blend in perfectly with the surroundings, which is equally as important in order to maintain subtlety and the important element of trickery.

Ultimately, this generates a delicate but necessary balance in Jenkins’ work: his pieces must fit in to the city as generally inconspicuous objects, but also embody just a hint of quirkiness and strangeness just noticeable enough to make viewers do a double-take. Even after careful inspection, Jenkins still retains a sense of ambiguity about the work and does not ever fully give away that these are sculptures of fake people. He lets the audience figure it out on their own, working through their own doubts and uncertainty, which makes the work incredibly engaging to a broad range of viewers.

Aside from being so clever and also slightly awkward, Jenkins’ work also puts a whole new spin on street art. While graffiti is the classic vehicle of public art, Jenkins’ work retains that raw quality of graffiti, while incorporating the high level of craft and skill of the historically renowned high art of sculpture. His work has a completely different feel than pristine sculpture gardens or iconic pieces such as the LOVE sculpture in Philly, yet Jenkins’ pieces are just as well-made and just as publicly displayed. This work straddles the line between borderline-vandalism and professionally-presented art, which makes it all the more unique and striking.

Overall, I love these city installations and although they could not be more different from the art I make, I cannot help but sing their praises and be continually impressed by Jenkins’ creativity.

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artist’s website: http://www.xmarkjenkinsx.com

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