Curated by Chris Bloor and Derek Horton
22.10.10 - 31.10.10
The Plaza Principle temporarily occupied the shell of the former TK Maxx store in The Leeds Shopping Plaza, as such it existed in the context of economic recession and attempts by local authorities, business and commercial developers to disguise economic decline, commercial inactivity and property blight with a facade of cultural activity. The exhibition included attempts to create a critical framework within which to acknowledge and critique its own complicity in such processes.
>THE PROFIT PRINCIPLE///
Our contribution to the exhibition, The Profit Principle, made use of auto-predictive market projection technologies to visualise the minute-by-minute impact of The Plaza Principle exhibition on the share price of Land Securities, the owners of Leeds Shopping Plaza and largest commercial property company in the UK. Through extensive cross-referencing and assimilation of statistics quoted by commercial and governmental sources, a complex formula was developed to forecast the real-time cultural capital generated by artistic activity.
>SCREENING PROGRAMME///
The end of each day’s trading at The Plaza Principle was marked with a series of one-off screenings of the Closing Bell ceremony from the New York Stock Exchange, to celebrate the profits that we made for Land Securities and our role within a wider process of commercial gentrification. Used both as a global advertising opportunity and a strategic political tool, the NYSE Closing Bell ritual takes place on every day of trading throughout the year, regardless of the successes or failures of the day’s markets and often jarring with wider global events to produce unexpected conversations.
>THU 21 OCT 2010 - COMMENCE OF TRADING// A deadly Tsunami hits the South Pacific US territory of American Samoa, destroying whole villages in its path. At the NYSE, Ronald McDonald rings the Opening Bell to celebrate the commence of the day’s trading (30 Sep 2010). (See video below)
>THU 21 OCT 2010 - CLOSE OF TRADING// Marvel Comics ring the Closing Bell to mark Kid’s Day at the NYSE. Subsequently The Walt Disney Company acquire Marvel Entertainment in a $4.24 billion deal (27 Nov 2009).
>FRI 22 OCT 2010 - CLOSE OF TRADING// The Honourable Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, rings the NYSE Closing Bell (15 Sep 2009).
>SAT 23 OCT 2010 - CLOSE OF TRADING// The Closing Bell is rung by Bunkers in Baghdad Inc, a charity who support troops in Iraq and Afghanistan by sending out golfing equipment for their recreation (26 Jun 2009).
>SUN 24 OCT 2010 - CLOSE OF TRADING// A record day of loss on the NYSE which came consequently to be known as The “Flash Crash” of 2010. “Cloud computing” company Rackspace ring the Closing Bell but do not applaud (6 May 2010).
>MON 25 OCT 2010 - CLOSE OF TRADING// 3 days in to the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the NYSE Closing Bell is rung by representatives of Globalgreen.org, to commemorate Earth Day (22 Apr 2010).
>TUE 26 OCT 2010 - CLOSE OF TRADING// The Economist Group ring the Closing Bell on the opening day of Frieze Art Fair (15 Oct 2009).
>WED 27 OCT 2010 - CLOSE OF TRADING// Haiti is hit by a devastating earthquake. Kids Brands Inc, distributor of branded products aimed at babies and children, ring the Closing Bell (12 Jan 2010).
>THU 28 OCT 2010 - CLOSE OF TRADING// The Israeli Finance Minister, Dr Yuval Steinitz rings the NYSE Closing Bell (2 Feb 2010).
>FRI 29 OCT 2010 - CLOSE OF TRADING// South Korean Electric / Nuclear Power Corporation KEPCO ring the Closing Bell, following the North Korean nuclear missile tests earlier in the year (28 Oct 2009).
>SAT 30 OCT 2010 - CLOSE OF TRADING// The day the death toll of US military in Afghanistan hits 1000. Coincidentally, US soldiers ring the Closing Bell to mark Memorial Day, which commemorates US soldiers who died while in military service (28 May 2010).
>SUN 31 OCT 2010 - CLOSE OF TRADING// Ambassadors for the 9/11 Charity Tuesday’s Children ring the Closing Bell on the 8th anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center (11 Sept 2009).
THU 21 OCT 2010 - COMMENCE OF TRADING// A deadly Tsunami hits the South Pacific US territory of American Samoa, destroying whole villages in its path. At the NYSE, Ronald McDonald rings the Opening Bell to celebrate the commence of the day’s trading (30 Sep 2010).
Related links:
Visit the Plaza Principle website
Visit Art in Unusual Spaces