Proposal for accumulation project

For the past 12 weeks I have been collecting horoscopes. They are something that I have always been interested in for some quick entertainment. Throughout this experiment, I have become increasingly bored with the subject and myself. While I was never really sure what I was looking for, it sure was not anything deep like a meaning or a reason for them. At the end of the experiment, all that I found myself with was a pile of meaningless papers. They were completely non-functional and only good for an occasional laugh. So, it is evident that the only purpose of these things are to make people feel like they have a chance at having a better day by something exciting happening to them, meeting new people, or coming in to some money. Fortune cookies, horoscopes, the magic 8 ball…they are all the same. They function to give people a laugh and a little bit of unrealistic hope.
People enjoy this type of entertainment, and it is for this reason that I am proposing to put many large sculptures all around New York City on the sidewalks. I chose New York because my work would be widely viewed there and I feel like New York City people tends to stress people out. The sculptures would be different sizes, ranging from 4-12ft in height and many different colors. They will be round glass orbs (very thick glass) with a bit of a cloudy inside. They would also flatten off at the bottom so that they do not need any other base to sit on. They are round and orb like because that is what is most of the time related to the thought of fortunes. It would be easier for people to understand the purpose and I think that it would make them more comfortable with the whole piece. The point of these orbs would be to give encouraging words to people who touched it just like the others do. I am a fan of humorous art and of course this would be mostly for “entertainment” but it is also amazing how just simple words or gestures can really make someone’s day. A person would walk up to it, rub the side, the cloudiness would separate and words would appear. They would be something to the point of…”There are great things in store for you”, “Someone very special is thinking about you right now”….and really cheesy things like that, which I would have to take much more time to come up with.

Examples of how they could possibly look:

Daniel Joseph Martinez

Does he have a big problem with American? Is his work all about politics? Does he consider himself an artist?
I love that he makes art that has a point and could change your way of thinking. He must be influencial, especially to have a show called, "I shit on the order of your world" in the Veterans Hall. Funny. Its great that he works from personal inspiration and that he has the balls to do something like the burning piece at his school is sort of a rebellion fashion. People like him make me want to strive to do important things and address issues in my work. He seems to make quite an impression in the art world, with others sharing his political beliefs. I dont think that he is against America, just has issues like all the rest of us. He definitely considers himself an artist, as would I..but he says he is still awaiting that feeling that he has become a recognized and respected artist. Hes all over the place and in this book...what more does it take? It seems hopeless then, will I ever be able to feel that way and be pleased enough with my mediocre self?!?!

Arnaldo Morales

How does his life affect his work? Is he an artist? What does the public think of his work?
This guy has had alot of near death experiences it seems, no wonder he seems to have so much inspiration and this also explains the violent content of it all. He says that he wants to spend time with those violent sorts of people...gutsy. If I had been thru all the shit this guy has, I would want to stay as far away as I possibly could. He says that people have told him that his work is a bit scary but fun because it is so interactive. I really love pieces that I can interact with as well. but technology in itself scares me a bit because of the power that it seems to generate and also the fact that I can understand the mechanics of most of it to save my life. Combine that with violence and you've certainly got me on edge. He is just like a boy, and like both of my brothers always tearing things apart and trying to fix them..but i guess thats how you learn because any time i need something done or put together i know that they can do it for me. Its cool to see though that art can evoke so many different feelings and actions in a person as an artist and a viewer and you get things out of peices that you would never expect.

Kim Jones

Why is he trying to alter his appearance? Why does he become Mudman all the time? What are his performances all about?
This guy is certainly one of a kind...especially for someone doing performance art. I see performance art all the time. Learning about different ones in class and seeing them for myself, I could walk down the streets of new york and not be very shocked by most of the things I see. But i think that even this guy would stump me a little bit. Is he trying to get a fearful reaction out of people? I like that he sees himself as a sculpture and that is really interesting but it almost seems like he likes being one more than he does a real person because he repeats this action so often, or more so than I would think is necessary. Also, with the David sculpture...its funny, whitty...but it seems kind of wrong to shoot Davids penis off with the slingshot. Is he trying to take away his manliness? He cant destroy him but geez, he is certainly killing his pride. And he does all of this once again as mudman,and with a little mudman. Maybe he should have his identity changed to that and he can be Kim Jones on the side.

Yukinori Yanagi

Why did he chose to work with an insect? Does he just have a "thing" for ants? What is he trying to express in his flag piece?
I think it is very interesting and visually stimulating in the process and the end result to use the ant like he did. It must have taken forever and really hurt his back to have to do all that, and with a material as simple as a red crayon. It was really cool, but who thinks of stuff like that to do?!?! Wow, maybe that web article was right and I do lack all senses of creativity. Interesting to think to use animals and sort of weigh them equal with humans...I think that they should be. Upon reading the title for the flag piece, I just thought that this guy had an obsession with ants but when I started reading his explanation, I understand why he thinks of it that way. Dealing with the social and cross-cultural issues that he does, he sees the issues as being like ants who he says doesnt know national boundaries..true. We all suffer the same I suppose. The dragging of colors was also a interesting idea.

Gregory Green

What point is this guy gather his "inspiration"? What is like outside of his work? Why he does "weird shit"?
Ha, I wish I could have seen that episode of Hard Copy...must have been interesting. This guy in general seems to be quite interesting. He says that he feels he doesnt really have a choice to be an artist and I can understand this, but its cool that he addresses the fact that he is a normal person who balances his check book and sends out resumes. Sometimes, especially when looking at big artists, i forget these people have real lives because they just seem to be so wrapped up in their work...its kind of a relief. He researches things for his pieces but is also motivated by simple things like music and he references caffeine. I like this guys personality...it makes me think that I might be like that one day. I especially enjoy his Molotov Cocktail...what is he trying to do, teach little kids to blow things up?!? Haha, quite intertaining.

How CREATIVITY is Killing the Culture

This guy describes as being seen by some people as an asshole, jerk, or bitter....I'm pretty sure that I thought of all of these while I was reading this and quite possibly a couple more. I guess he makes a point (that I really only see him caring about) but wow....who the hell is he to crush peoples dreams by saying that they are not capable of being good enough to ever get anywhere. Let people try what they want, and if they fail then it will be by their own accord and they will decide where to take their life next. They dont need some cynical old man telling them otherwise. And by the way, he fails to mention anything about his own past artwork in this article...maybe he is just bitter because he was one of those people who just couldnt quite make it the way he wanted and he likes others to feel just as miserable as he does. I am one of those people that he is talking about and I like it....this guy pisses me off, life is short people, live it however the hell you chose and be as open, creative, talented, smart, adventurous, religious, and as happy as you want without listening to pricks like this. Oh, and by the way...I happen to love that WILCO song!!