Dual Flyer Experiments : "The Long Holiday" and "Northern Arts Forum"

I created two works for the flyer assignment, in midst of preparing for my own graduate-level community arts project in Reno, NV.

PROJECT A : The Long Holiday. Performance/Flyer Piece.

PROJECT B : Northern Arts Forum. Interactive/Flyer Piece.

A : The Long Holiday

Timeframe : 2.14.12-2.15.12 (Time Specific, In Essence)

For this flyer piece (which was actually conceived after

Northern Arts Forum), I analyzed the commercial holiday

Valentines Day. Being single, I had rather repressive feelings

toward it, as a lot did. I decided to go a very dark humor

route with it. I looked up an article concerning the 16 dispar-

aging facts about Valentines Day. Among the facts was that

75% of suicides were related to relationship problems.

A penny dropped. Does that even have to do with V-Day?

It seemed to be a cry for help, both in the article writing and

emotional sense. So I compared it to the recent Occupy movement

and made the "I WAS THE 75%" mini-flyers that I could post

in a very recognizable spot : street corner light posts.

Also, give the illusion that the flyer-er in fact did some

kind of deviant act involving traffic and their life.

The kicker : I got drunk before I did all this. This was in

tandem with my own feelings to the day and how to efficiently

go about the action of posting 11-13 of these down the Reno strip.

The lightposts turned out to be an efficient  tool in doing the

flyering, as they were "points of reference" for me to return to.

I did one pass by, flyering, and another documenting. As I was

drunk, I would not have noticed any old location.

I compare the depressed 75% to the repressed 99% of America.

Where does the intellect meet emotion? What percentage

of the emotionally damaged are truly 'physically' damaged?

      

Printed and sliced up into divisions.

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B : Northern Arts Forum

Timeframe : 2.11.12-Ongoing

I created an actual, sort of rustic, art community for

this assignment out of thin air. It is called the Northern

Arts Forum. Run by the imaginary avatar, who can

be contacted at northernartsforum@yahoo.com

In my academic art studies, I decided with this project

that is still ongoing to do a social experiment of sorts.

To test : A.) If students in the art school(s) truly notice

certain types of information that is attempted to be

fed to them and B.) if they'll be angry enough to reply.

In summarization, the letter commends student artists

on their strife in adhering to a certain philosophy of

imprisonment, thanking them for submitting to  the idea

of being an artist working for someone else and someone

else alone. That the artist is dumb, but the employer is not.

I may have made it too well, with the tacky clip-art looking

graphic, rustic aesthetic, and the overtly lengthly message. 

There was interaction at one point where the first time

this flyer was placed above the fountain (below), it was

seen removed the next day. I placed it there again.

And will, over and over, until results are seen

via e-mail. I'm hoping to get angry e-mails with

certain philosophies behind them. Or even better

(perhaps sadly so too), commending e-mails to me.

The full "flyer". I will update this

blog post as more discrepancies come,

which I what I am expecting/hope.