About
This is Art.
"Sirens of the Lambs" by Banksy is a live installation which is something that can be seen as art in motion because that is how the artist intended it to be viewed. I’d also say that it is beyond what the artists wanted the audience to view because it is the overall experience that makes this type of art stand out among others. It does not solely need to be viewed in one spot behind some barrier although it can be if you’d only like to catch a glimpse of it like many of the pedestrians who most likely were busy and could only afford to direct their attention to the live installation for a couple seconds. If the art is in motion, it can be possible to follow it! Some individuals decided to do so. A live installation like this one can also be physically touched as seen in one of the videos in the “Original Live Installation” section, where there was one individual who could reach out and feel the stuffed animals before the truck took off on its journey. Most people were likely not able to physically touch the piece or they simply decided not to but it is very clear that even without physically touching it or being relatively close to it, emotions were stirred within themselves. All of this adds up to how the artist wanted to express his ideas through an experience and that’s why this is considered art.
2013 to 2023
It has been approximately one decade since Banksy created this live installation piece in New York City. However, when I learned about this in class after seeing day 11 of his month-long residency called “Better Out Than In”, I thought that this was something more recent because this issue is still relevant today. I know that it has improved but there is still much to do. Social media now compared to a decade ago has seen some major changes. TikTok is now around and right up there with all of the leading social media apps and it introduced this short video format that has allowed information to spread even faster and reach more people than an Instagram or Facebook post a decade ago. PETA is on TikTok as well as other organizations plus millions of activists around the world. Images do speak louder than words but now with short video content being popular, this makes the message much clearer.
The Art in Context
Historically, since the mid-19th century, the Meatpacking District in New York City has been the place where factories and slaughterhouses are located. This place has also become commercial since there is evidence of that as well with open markets being established and gay bars. It seems that in this district there have been changes but awareness efforts like Banksy’s “Sirens of the Lambs” are something that helps. Socially speaking, there are more vegans now than ever before and it's projected to keep slowly but steadily increasing. According to Strategic Market Research, “the number of vegans in the US tripled between 2004 and 2019” and, “nearly 6% of US consumers are vegan” which means as of that study there were “over 9.7 million vegans in the United States.” I believe that this is probably because information can be spread so rapidly like the cell phone video of violations in slaughterhouses or other places where livestock is raised or else we wouldn’t know what has been happening. This same source also says that “during the pandemic, the plant-based food industry expanded by 27%” which can also be attributed to the aforementioned increase simply due to the availability of options and overall access.