The Vicarious Experience Project
Ever had someone visit your city, town or hamlet and realize it had been forever since you went to the zoo, museum or orchard? Often (if not always) our choices of destinations are influenced by the network of people around us, leading us to new places as well as shaping our memory and experience of that place. With this in mind, I have an art project and tourist experiment that I need your help with.
What I need from you:
Assignments. Tell me a place in Paris you’d like me to go. Historical site, garden, restaurant, market, whatever. Creative assignments are a-ok. Simply assign me a destination, and tell me why you chose it.
(The fine print: I will try to do all the assignments! Those that are free or cheap will naturally be moved to the top of the pile. The reasoning behind your choice will be very interesting and helpful to me, but please don’t feel you have to write an essay.)
What’s in it for you:
You will certainly get a postcard from the assigned place. These experiences will be cataloged and expanded upon in artworks, so you’ll be immortalized as a muse if you’re into that kind of thing. Also, the warm and fuzzy feeling of helping out a struggling artist, vicariously visiting Paris, and my undying thanks…
The art theory part:
My artwork has been largely themed on collections, desire and accumulation; in the recent past this has centered on objects, and now I’m considering how experiences play into the idea of collecting. How and why do we collect and manifest our experiences? Do we do it for ourselves, or for other people? An experience is a nebulous and malleable concept, influenced by many variables. I plan to investigate in an autobiographical manner how these adventures are shaped by my network of people.
I look forward to your ideas and motivation. I plan to post updates about the project here and on a Facebook group, where you’re welcome to post assignments. If you post an assignment here in the comments, be sure to tell me who you are! Of course, you can e-mail me as well…thanks for collaborating with me!
