For this Art in Daily Life Project I have been trying to figure out a way to make a functioning artwork that can make living in this pandemic a little better. I have looked at Carsten Holler’s Test Project, it is a fun interactive art piece that brings the audience together through a common experience. The slides also have an unnerving quality about them that brings out the viewers inner emotions and allows the viewers to have more unguarded emotions, allowing the viewers to better relate to each other.
Test Site also is function and fun. It allows the person to go from the fifth floor of the museum to the main floor. I like that the slides are more than just structural form. They function as a way for people to travel down levels but in a more childlike/thrilling way.
I also like David Hammons’ Bliz-aard Ball Sale. He took something that was not being marketed and commodified it. This is also a fun and slightly functional project. Although there is snow all around him the consumer is still pressured into buying a snow ball. Maybe the viewer has a child who really wants one, or maybe they are in too much of a hurry to make a snowball themself. It also is an interesting commentary on capitalism and why someone would buy something that is easily destroyed, and easily created.
I wanted to create something that would also be functional, with the idea that it would help someone overcome cabin-fever during this pandemic. Because people are limited in where they can go and who they can hangout with, I thought it would be beneficial to create artificial exteriors to exist in. The viewer is able to hangout in these spaces either by themself or with other people. By calling someone over zoom or facetime, the viewer can place in their phone or laptop into the scene and be transported with their friend into a new place. I have created an example of what they would look like below. I created a three sided background and taped it to a base. The bench is for-shortened which allows the space to look larger than it is.
My next ideas for the project are to take panoramic shots of spaces that I would like to use as a background. I think that these dioramas would be more effective if they were made out of real images and not drawings. Or maybe they would be just as good with better, more thought-out drawings. I would also like to create a diorama specifically meant for a zoom meeting or a phone. Maybe placed into the scene similar to the photo attractions at fairs where a person sticks their head through a whole and then they look like a pirate or something. It would also be interesting to have some moving pieces in the diorama. I do not know how or what to make move.
The point of the project is to create an environment for people to hangout in while they are quarantining. It also would make for a good product for people who have to work from home.
Francis Brogan 