When you look at an artwork, do you evaluate it purely by its visual appeal? Or are you influenced by the identity of the artist, their inspiration and the context in which the work is presented?

These questions are at the heart of Stop! In the Name of Art!, an initiative that will see Rundle Mall transformed into a pop-up gallery over three weekends.

Labelled “part temporary art installation, part social experiment”, the “gallery” will display up to 12 artworks – all of which will be stripped of any context or background information.

Event curator Ryan Winter says the anonymity seeks to encourage people to examine the pieces purely on their visual appeal.

He is attempting to challenge the public to look at a piece of art in a somewhat naked form.

“If I can get a collection of these artists, and I can put them in easy sight of the public, what sort of reaction are they going to get just by themselves?” Ryan asks.

The pieces will be accompanied by no information as to how or why they were made, or the artist’s inspiration. The artists themselves will also remain a mystery.

“What is art without context?” Winter asks

“I essentially wanted to strip down an exhibition to that core aspect – to get people to tell me what they like, why, what’s their favourite?

“I want to basically let this experiment play out, and hopefully get a reflection on how South Australians view art.”

He says the artists involved are excited and curious to see what response their “secret” pieces will receive.

“A good portion are South Australian artists; there are some interstate, and some are from overseas, with varying reputations.

“The artists are excited. It is very rare you get an opportunity like this, especially in such a prominent space such as Rundle Mall.”

People who view the pieces will be invited to share their thoughts and opinions via social media.

“It’s not judging – every piece of comment we receive will be published via social media, everything we get will be put up.

“Some might get no feedback, some will get a lot, but that is part of the experiment.”

All feedback will remain anonymous, and will hopefully build an online community for the project, where pieces and personal preferences can be discussed and shared.

At the end of the project, each artist and their corresponding works will be revealed.

Pop-up gallery dates

Week 1: Friday, November 28, from 5pm at Rundle Mall. Saturday, November 29, from 12pm at Rundle Mall.
Week 2: Friday, December 5, from 4-9pm at Art Battle Spectacular, Light Square. Saturday, December 6, from 12pm at Rundle Mall.
Week 3: Friday, December 12, from 5pm at Rundle Mall. Saturday, December 13, from 12pm at Rundle Mall.

You can follow the project at the following sites: www.stopinthenameofart.tumblr.com, facebook.com/stopinthenameofart and twitter.com/StopITNOArt