Mierle Laderman Ukeles: Maintenance Art Works 1969-1980

"I am an artist. I am a woman. I am a wife. I am a mother. (Random order). 

I do a hell of a lot of washing, cleaning, cooking, renewing, supporting, preserving, etc. Also, (up to now separately) I 'do' Art. Now I will simply do these everyday things, and flush them up to consciousness, exhibit them, as Art."

(Ukeles,1969: 3).

Mierle Laderman Ukeles  born (Denver, USA in 1939) and is a New York based artist known for her feminist and everyday routine of life in artworks, which strongly relates to the idea of process in conceptual art. Ukeles through her Maintenance Art attempted to erase the boundary between art and life and created a practice that is pure from artistic sophistication. 

In 1969, after the birth of her first child, Ukeles started to become aware that she needs to divide her time between being a mother and being an artist. She became frustrated with this divide and this is how her Manifesto for Maintenance Art came about. The manifesto was written as a proposal for an exhibition titled Care. It is formed of two parts, in which clearly presence artist's views on the value of maintenance. She discusses differences between art and life, nature and culture, and public and private. In first part is titles 'IDEAS' Ukeles looks at maintenance and development within the context of art and personal life. The second part titles 'CARE' is the proposal for an exhibition based on ideas from part one. In her manifesto Ukeles states that 'Everything I say is Art is Art. Everything I do is Art is Art. ' (Ukeles, 1969: 2) It feels as though anything could be art. By saying so Ukeles erases the divide between art and life, exposing the aspects of personal life and rejects the traditional approach to art. It becomes pointless to try and relate her work to a piece of art because in this case one of the main concepts - blurring of life and art - contradicts this attempt to clearly categorize it. 

Ukeles first public performance was at Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford in 1979 which consisted of four acts. In Hartford Wash: Washing, Tracks, Maintenance Inside, the performance consisted of artist scrubbing, mopping and cleaning the floor of the museum the duration of four hours. In Hartford Wash: Washing, Tracks, Maintenance Outside, Ukeles cleaned the building's front steps. She took care of the spaces as her own, as she would take care of her own house. She describes these activities in her manifesto as 'floor paintings'. In Transfer: The Maintenance of the Art Object, Ukeles introduced her cleaning of a protective display case as a ‘dust works’. The Keeping of the Keys, was the fourth performance, where the artist went around with a set of guard keys, locking certain galleries, often with visitors still inside to highlight the behind the scenes services performed at a museum. 

For Ukeles the role of the artist is to empower people to act and change social values and norms. Art is not complete or fixed, it is an ongoing process that is connected with the everyday life.

Washing, Tracks, Maintenance Outside

Washing, Tracks, Maintenance Outside

Washing, Tracks, Maintenance Outside

Washing, Tracks, Maintenance Inside

Through these performances Ukeles explores the tension between public and private spheres of life. She raises cleaning and other maintenance services to the same level as the displayed artworks and objects in the museum. Usually museums try to hide the jobs by doormen or caretakers from public view, making them invisible as well as the important work that they do. Ukeles highlights their importance and laborious work of everyday through her performances, experiencing these jobs first hand and appreciating what the workers do for the smooth operation of the museum everyday. 

~ Ev