Drive-By-Art

"When" by Toni Ross and Sara Salaway (photograph by Hallie Cohen)

The recent "Drive-By-Art: Public Art In this Moment of Social Distancing" event, organized by Warren Neidich, is an example of an ingenious way of accomodating to the limitations of living life in a pandemic. It’s the artistic version of the old drive-in theater—which by the way could very well make a comeback when and if filmgoers turn out to prefer the safety and comfort of their cars to actually being in multiplex. Legitimate theaters may also soon take advantage of a similar concept, though outdoor theater like Shakespeare in the Park already has a long and storied history. Drive-By-Art is in itself a work of conceptual art to the extent that it proposes an alternative to the very notion of the museum. Who knows what the cultural implications of such a piece of agit prop will be? It could hearken the end of galleries and museums or in a more likely scenario simply turn out to be a practical placeholder giving contemporary artists a venue until the world returns to a modicum of normalcy. On a recent evening Wainscott residents were able to walk down Main Street to see "Nighttime Video Installation," a kaleidoscopic work by Clifford Ross. During the day, Tony Ross and Sarah Salaway's "When," a conceptual piece comprised of a line of stenciled folding metal chairs following a chronology of dates leading to a pileup denotated simply “yesterday,” “today” and “tomorrow” was exhibited nearby on Beach Lane. Eric Fischl, Keith Sonnier, Suzanne Anker and Nina Yankowitz were among the around 50 artists exhibiting their work.