A Goal of Impermanence
Michael Townsend creates large murals with masking tape. And when he’s done, he removes all traces of his artwork.
The other day I had the opportunity to sit with RISD alum Michael
Townsend, whose medium of choice is … tape. Yes, tape. And not just one
roll of tape. He uses thousands of rolls of tape to create his sidewalk
constructions. What’s especially elegant about Townsend’s approach is that
the goal of his “tape art” is to be entirely temporary. The tape goes
up. The creative act is manifest. And then it’s completely removed.
Not unlike a sand mandala, Townsend’s tape murals represent a kind of activity
for the sake of the activity and not the outcome. Most art seeks to last
forever–to be completely permanent. By being permanent, monetary value can be
ascribed. How does one attach monetary value to something that once existed,
and then disappeared? I’m curious what an economist might say about all this.
