Boston's Winteractive Art Instillation Is Causing a Stir

The new Winteractive art instillation, which showcases 16 unique art pieces around downtown Boston, has been causing quite a divide between viewers.

The self described “Canadian Art Experience in Downtown Boston” features a wide array of different artists, including Mark Jenkins, LeMonde Studio, Mathias Gmachl and Kezna Dalz. Many people seem to be enjoying the art, as evidenced by it’s popularity on social media. Emerson student Taner Kaynak said that the art is “very cool and a great way to take fun pictures for back home.” However, Kaynak also said that the art “seems to be a bit overproduced, like it was created in a lab rather than by a person.”

Winteractive whale sculpture, captured by Sean Perry.

Kaynak’s sentiment is mirrored by many others who don’t support the Winteractive instillation. The project is funded largely in part by the City of Boston’s tourism office, who created in order to increase foot traffic in downtown Boston. Many believe that the over involvement of the Boston tourism office, the use of Canadian artists, and the disconnect between the sculptures signals that the art was created not to make a statement, but rather for purely capitalistic reasons. Jameson Johnson from the Boston Globe stated in his controversial article about the instillation, “WINTERACTIVE — it hurts to even type — is not that, and means nothing to Boston at all. Each of the works feels unracked from a vast public art warehouse and plopped in any available space, probably because that’s exactly what they are.”

The variety of comments on Johnson’s article show that his stance is extremely polarizing. Globe user locavoree commented, “Finally someone at the Globe gets it.” Meanwhile, another user, rfbos, commented that, “‘Wet Blanket,’ is the term for our erudite critic.”

Whether you’re a fan of the art or not, it can’t be denied that the instillation is achieving it’s main goal— bringing people downtown. The clown head sculpture in particular has grown in popularity over social media, and people are actively talking about the instillation online. Despite this, people are torn on whether the instillation signifies a win for public art in Boston, or the emergence of art created solely for monetary gain.