 Thursday brought a lot of individual visitors out to the wall. Some of these people come by specifically to see us, having learned about our efforts in papers or on TV. While other people see our work while passing by and stop to chat. Sometimes people just stumble into us, and are struck by the shapes we draw with tape.
Regardless of how they find us, we welcome visitors, and are happy to talk about anything. More often than not, however, the subject is Tape Art. Approachability is important to us, and makes the work richer for everyone involved. Heck, If we didn’t want to interact with the public, we’d probably quit public art altogether, or draw in secret under the cover of darkness. Curious questions keep us on our toes, and honest assessments help us to consider new points of view.
  
OIC
Groups come by too, and on Thursday we were visited by the women of Oklahoma City’s Opportunities Industrialization Center, or OIC. A quick question and answer session quickly became an impromptu Tape Art experience for the whole group. This medium, coupled with a bit of observation and participation, allowed these women to cross an important but imaginary boundary; Art becomes an experience they own, rather than an object to see.
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We introduced them to the new medium by having them create plants, and allayed fears with a simple truth - there is no wrong way to draw a flower, and if you think you’ve messed up, just peel it off and try again. Moreover. flowers can oftentimes be “plucked” off the wall, and repositioned as the artist feels fit.
I believe the environment - getting outside on a beautiful day - has something to do with helping these women overcome a common misperception; that art is not their domain.
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Metro Better Living
We popped into Oklahoma City’s Metropolitan Better Living with a couple of collaborations on deck. We began by creating murals-on-request. The seniors in our audience wanted dancing, and so dance moves we drew. They remembered their dancing days and shared descriptions of slick moves, while we re-created their narratives as drawings on the wall. I personally get a bit anxious at this request, considering the possibility that someone might not want reminders of their dancing days. However, my concerns dissipate once we begin and it becomes clear that the group really enjoys seeing their memories realized, life-sized, on the walls all around them.
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Unfortunately, we don't have any photographs of the work described above - It is easy to get caught up in drawing and forget to document. Thankfully, we do have photographs of our second project at Metro. Better Living.
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Left and Above: Teamwork takes multiple forms, as this group finds ways to work together. |
GearUp - Thursday
Our GearUp collaboration continues... More students making more marks, working together to consider a space, engaging their entire body with a positive act of expression, and enjoying the process. Over the course of this week the GearUp drawings have engulfed this grey architectural mass, transforming its relationship to the arts festival and its attendees.
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Left: Tape Art everywhere. Watching students tape, while Tape watches these guys' backs.
Above and Below: High-school students make their mark on Oklahoma City's Annual Art Festival.
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