"'...We don't need to make the building work. We need to support you.,'" a quote from Theaster Gates, a real-estate agent / artist / speaker / designer / artchitect who first proposed the project of renovating an abandon site to bring the community something they have never seen before.
"It's not just addressing issues of art about art, and art about self-identity; it's a new vocabulary, a new approach. The success of his work is measured by its actual impact on the community." This articles highlights the important part of how an artist must find a connection within a community when trying to celebrate it through the arts. It is a process and a commitment. What is most unique about Gates in this reading is how he was able to target a variety of people in his talks. Changing his tone and language would allow listeners to believe and support his work if they thought he accurately represented them enough. After a few laughs and awkward shifts in their seats at uncomfortable comments Gates would make, he would be welcomed with warm smiles giving the "OK" to make public art in their neighborhood.
So what was Gates art work to the public eye? Like many rundown towns you would have to look deeper than the surface to see any real beauty or art like Gates suggested. "I knew that our city was a machine to be understood, and that if you could understand it you could make it work on your behalf." Gates saw those rundown towns and abandon factories and houses as a frame work to build beauty . He did this by becoming a real-estate agent, and using square footage as his leverage to add what the communities needed most; aesthetic.
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