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James Clar is an artist whose work focuses on controlling and manipulating light. He works in New York, Tokyo, and Dubai.
James Clar, All Work and No Play, 2007. Finished installation. Color light filters, labor outfits, 32 floor building, smiley face 7 stories high. Courtesy of the artist.All Work and No Play is a guerilla art installation attempted in Dubai in December 2007. Numerous towers are being constructed at the same time in Dubai, and at night they leave all the lights on. For the installation, we snuck into the construction site of one of the towers dressed as laborers to manipulate the existing building’s lighting with filters, using the facade like a pixilated mural.
Dubai is growing at a rapid pace, becoming a center of mass commercialism. People come here to make money and leave but this works against the idea of community. Added to this is the fact that people come from different cultures, and often they don’t know how to coexist. For people living here, it can sometimes be a cold environment where basic priorities get confused.
This art piece was created to send a positive message to Dubai, to cut through the commercialism, and to remind people to relax. The building we chose was along a major highway for the best visibility. The smiley face was chosen as something positive that would be instantly recognized by the different cultures here. If someone saw this building smiling at them, and it caused them to smile, then the piece worked. We did not ask for permission to build this installation. Although positive and for the people, the installation itself was a critique and an act against the commercialism-over-community mentality that the city propagates.
A manifesto was created to send to the local newspapers once the installation was done.
We scouted the place out a few weeks ahead of time and bought the same colored outfits as the third world laborers at the construction site. We determined the best method would be to sneak under the fence, go up the stairs to the correct positions, and tape the light filters over the lights. There would be no physical alteration or damage to the building. The installation would be quick and could be taken down easily.
We had two teams. One team would enter the building as laborers (Sundown and Broadband), and the second team would wait outside with cell phones to direct the inside team to the correct placement and to call if the police showed up. The code word bananas was to be used if things got too hot and everyone needed to run.
We got inside on installation day, but were unable to make it to the upper floors because the stairs weren’t finished. Then, we went outside to use the construction elevator but the safety manager caught us. Initially we told him we were electrical engineers, but since he wasn’t notified earlier he couldn’t let us up. Then we tried to bribe him, but that didn’t work. Then we told him the truth and he smiled.What followed was a series of meetings spread through the week. Each meeting was with higher-level authority, each liking the idea but unable to give us permission. Finally, I met with the owner—a local emirati. He was amused by the idea but couldn’t wrap his head around doing something that did not relate to a sale, an advertisement, or direct commercial gains for me or him. He denied us.
