I plan on making a series of objects out of whatever materials I can find; plastics, cardboard, wood, paint etc. These objects will range from hand held size to half of a body size. They will be displayed on some kind of tabletop surface, which I will also construct. These objects will exist as implements for people to interact with either visually or physically. The space that will be created around this display will be a common space.
In the middle ages, commons were pieces of land that people collectively owned and maintained together. These commons were slowly eradicated as wealthier people bought them up and in turn paid the people who had been utilizing the spaces to work on the land. In the modern era of capitalism, commons are though of differently; as an intellectual collaborative space that one or more individuals share, that transcends mediation by commodities. These spaces can be as simple as a conversation between two people or as wildly diverse as one of Allen Kaprow’s Happenings in the 1960s.
I am thinking of the space I will create as a form of commons. It is inspired by instances of imagination like the ones that typically occur when an individual is about to unwrap a gift or finds a folded piece of paper on the ground and wonders what is written inside. Instead of an individual experience, the piece enables viewers to gather and move around the table and actively engage as a group.
Some artists I am looking at as research for this project include; Helio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, Franz West, Katie Bell, Allen Kaprow, Josephine Halvorson, Vladimir Tatlin, El Lizitsky, and Rirkrit Tiravanija.
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