WIKIPEDIA II

Urban Interventionism is a name sometimes given to a number of different kinds of activist art practices, art that typically responds to the social community, locational identity, the built environment, and public places. George Yúdice, Professor of American Studies Program and of Spanish and Portuguese at New York University, defines the term as referring to "public or participatory art through which publics constitute themselves and experience something extraordinary in the process. Artists working in this international vein often utilize outdoor video projection, found objects, sculptural artifacts, posters, and performance events that might include and involve passersby on the street. The goals are often to create new awareness of social issues, and to stimulate community involvement. Such practices have a history that includes certain street artists of the 1960s, such as The Diggers of San Francisco, or the Provos of Amsterdam, among many others. Contemporary artists often associated with urban interventionist practices are Daniel Buren, Gordon Matta-Clark, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Thomas Hirschhorn, Francis Alÿs, and Harrell Fletcher, among many others.