massachusetts
Organized by Adam Rozan, Director of Audience Engagement for Worcester Art Museum
When the Street Museum of Art began offering sticker labels to the public for free in 2012, they were initially intended to be placed on the streets — drawing attention creative expression that exists outside art world institutions. By mimicking a museum’s didactic labels, SMoA’s stickers encourage the public to participate in this project and draw attention to the cultural importance of street art. SMoA's labels play up the idea that while street art can never be exhibited inside a museum, it is just as current and influential within contemporary art history as anything you may find in the New Museum or MoMA, for example.
Today, inside the Worcester Art Museum (WAM) in Massachusetts — the same museum that recently made headlines for its acquisition of the 16th century “Venus Disarming Cupid” by Paolo Veronese — hangs a label from the Street Museum of Art. Filled in by hand with a permanent marker, the label marks an installation by Massachusetts’ own Cash for Your Warhol, hanging inside the offices of Adam Rozan, WAM’s Director of Audience Engagement.
An unlikely place for the Street Museum of Art to appear, indeed, but Adam Rozan is a fan of street art and brought SMoA’s label into the museum to highlight Cash for Your Warhol's installation amongst the traditional collections WAM houses.
We are interested to hear your thoughts!
A statement from Adam Rozan:
I when I first heard of The Street Museum of Art (SMOA), I immediately wanted to visit and check it out. After searching for SMOA online, I realized, of course, that it’s about the street and each street has the potential to be a museum unto itself. I’ve been a huge fan of Geoff Hargadon’s Cash for Your Warhol series since its beginning. The work successfully accomplishes what any great piece of street art does, engages its audience. Here, awareness becomes art and art becomes defined. When I recently moved to Massachusetts from California to become the Director of Audience Engagement at the Worcester Art Museum, I invited Geoff for a visit and tour of the museum. Sitting in my office later in the day, we realized that what was missing in the space was a wall of Cash for Your Warhol signs. Soon, my wall became a mix of color and messages, a play on signage, on art, even on office art. Now when people come into my office, the first thing they see is this brilliant pattern of colors. It’s beautiful and I love it.
- Adam Rozan, Director of Audience Engagement, Worcester Art Museum