Paul Ramírez Jonas Past

Over the past 25 years Paul Ramírez Jonas has sought to challenge the definitions of art and the public and to engineer active audience participation and exchange. To engage completely with his projects, he often asks participants to contribute something: spare change, a wish, their own version of history. This reciprocity is a manifestation of trust and a social contract through which the viewer and artist create meaning. His works have included large-scale monuments with cork boards for impromptu messages and performative pieces in which he mailed keys to the nearest 5,000 residents of Cambridge’s Taylor Park to explore notions of access, trust, and belonging.

This lecture is a joint presentation between MassArt and Now and There. Dedicated to creating impactful temporary public art projects in Greater Boston, Now and There delivers thought-provoking artworks and experiences that advance new definitions of public art.