Prompt: Analyze an existing artwork/project/piece of media (TV show, game, etc) and the systems within which it operates. Try to identify: Who created it? For whom? With what materials and metaphors? With what intention? What impact? On whom? How? Did the artist identify a public or create a counterpublic?
The art work I chose is an interactive media art piece called “360degrees.org”. It was done through collaboration of interdisciplinary artists :Alison Cornyn and Sue Johnson.
The piece is designed to be a participatory investigation experience of the American criminal justice system. The project place the audience POV in the center of a prison cell while giving intimate portraits of the prisoners.
From my point of view, this piece is created for the people who concern or are curious about the issue of criminal justice and prison welfares.That is to say the work is a public art itself, it might be able to have its own audiences for educational purposes. By placing the audience in the POV of a prisoner, I think the piece provides a space for empathy to happen. Also by providing opportunities for audiences to able to learn and for prisoners to be able to speak publicly, the work has its own strong stance. After all, this is a listening happen off the court with no proficiency requirement, I think the work grabs public intention on part of justice system we often ignore meanwhile channeling through both sides of the bars.
Yes, I think the work identifies both public and counterpublic by merging the insights together. The viewers are the public while the prisoners are potentially counterpublic. Viewers are then be able to stand in the position of both sides and think whether prisoners are actually guilty or have suffered enough. By doing so, viewers and prisoners might eventually be able to come to an agreement of perspectives.