An Interview with Krystof Wodiczko

Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed reading the interview that Patricia Phillips did with Krystof Wodiczko. The reason that I liked the interview so much is that he makes points that I agree with. People always like reading and listening to someone that shares the same opinion as them, and for me Wodiczko did. I personally agree with his and Claude Lefort's view on democracy. Wodiczko said if you want to find democracy look for it in a public and look for the people that bring meaning to it. It wasn’t just Wodiczko that I agree with; Philips also made good points that got me thinking. She said that artists have the tendency to use a group of people as a project. You can see this happen all over the place, and it’s not just limited to artists. I believe everyone is guilty of using a group as a project. When you hear that someone is using another person, you instantly feel sorry for the person being used. I think it’s bad to use someone for your own personal gain, but I also think that two people can use each other and both benefit from it. When Wodiczko said this my mind went to his usage of buildings. He uses buildings that are not physically appeasing, but he brings art to them. He’s using them for his artwork and at the same time the building is using him to be seen again. One of the things that I hate most is when someone tells me they know what I’m going through but actuality they have no idea. When people say this, they are belittling the past pain that that person has gone through. What made me respect Wodiczko more is that he doesn’t go to a place and believes that he knows what that community has gone through. You would never know what they have gone through unless you were there to go through it too. I personally take a stance against violence, and I often wonder when the violence will end. In all the neighborhoods that I have lived in, there is always a memorial dedicated a person that has been killed in the streets. Wodiczko’s words echoes my thoughts: when will there be a time when there will be no need for tragic memorials?