Potential Artworks to be Completed by You, the Viewer.
Below is a list of potential artworks that can be performed by anyone, one or many times, for an indefinite number of times. They are intended to offer an individual aesthetic experience to the performer. Likewise, they provide an ever increasing community of performers/collaborators and viewers, many of whom are accidental viewers, resulting in a change in perception to our daily living experience. I encourage you to take liberties with these instructions when possible, as well as to document your experiences in any way you see fit. The ideas are owned by me, but as such, they will only exist as typed text for myself and the potential for an aesthetic experience. For you, they can be much more. (Unfortunately, I must say that these instructions are prefaced with the understanding that you have the free will to carry them out or not. Therefore, I cannot be blamed for any harm that comes to you or others as a result of your performance of these actions.) Thomas Friel 2008/11 Action #1: Jackson Pollock Memorial Painting Buy a 6 - pack of cheap beer in either 12 oz. or 16 oz. cans. Drink it alone. Fill cans with paint; any kind, any color. Mix with water if desired. Place cans on top of un-stretched canvas or white sheet in any arrangement you decide. Crush cans swiftly with foot. Action #2: Ownership Buy, find or steal an object, preferably something used or previously owned, just not by you. Bring it home. Study it using as many senses as possible. Name it. keep it with you for an entire day. Take it everywhere you go. Urinate and/or masturbate on it in complete privacy. Do you feel connected to it? Throw it out to end. Action #3: Trash Relocation Project Sweep up all the trash on the street which you live. Spray paint everything larger than a quarter white on the outside, leaving the inside or underside dirty. Place in a neat pile on the corner sidewalk and leave there until trash day. Action #4: Fountain Get a bottle of water. Stand in the middle of the street or busy sidewalk. Take as big a mouthful of water as possible and project an arcing stream out of your mouth, as evenly as possible. Stand on one leg, or assume traditional cherub fountain position. Repeat until bottle is empty. Walk through the puddle of water you made and do not look back. Action #5: Being Yourself Take a picture of your face. Photocopy it as large as your own face. You can choose to have this as detailed as possible, or continue copying each subsequent copy so that most of the detail is gone. Cut eye holes and attach a string or rubber band to either side. Wear it all day, going about your daily routine. *You may also opt to do the same thing to your hands. Action #6: The Monster Obtain a large white sheet, a halloween mask and gloves (preferably altered or made of cardboard or cheap/free materials. Find a friend who is either easy for you to lift OR can lift you easily. With one person on the other’s shoulders and in the costume, stomp around the town and crush things as a tall monster! Action #7: Feed the Rich Dress as though you are homeless. Stand in the financial district in the town which you live on a weekday afternoon. Give change to those walking by. (Consider a sign that says: "Please, any change I can give you would help." handwritten on cardboard.) Action #8: Product Placement 1 Go into a store. Steal one product. Throw it out in a trash can just outside the store. Action #9: Product Placement 2 Go into a store. Put a used object, a natural object, or something that has no value, etc., neatly displayed on a shelf with a price tag. Leave. Action #10: Last Day on Earth Pick a day to be the imagined last day of your life. Live it as if it truly were. Could you now die happy? Action #11: Vocabulary Limitation Limit your speech to these five words for one day: yes, no, me, you, what. Go about your daily routine. Try not to rely on hand signals or written/typed communication. Action #12: Channeling the Living Put yourself in a quiet room with no distractions. Sit in a comfortable position with a picture of someone you know or object of theirs in your hands or in front of you. Focus only on thinking of them. Repeat the word “hello” to them over and over. Later, call them and ask if they thought of you today. Action #13: Instant Parade Gather at least 3 friends. Go to a grocery store parking lot. Buy or bring crepe paper, balloons and any other parade items you choose. Decorate one or two (or more) carts. Start the parade in the lot with one person pushing the cart and one person waving at passerby. Action #14: No Landfill Go one full day without throwing anything out in a trash can or dumpster. This includes uneaten food, food wrappers, beverages, house hold trash, office trash, etc. Collect it all in one neat pile and photograph. Display photograph prominently for at least one week. Action #15: Meeting New People Meet one new person everyday for a week. Initiate conversation with them, ask questions and focus on relating to them as they are. Introduce yourself and get their name as well. (Those inside a circle of friends, met through mutual friends or as work related clients do not count; they should all be total strangers et completely through the curse of your and their day.) You may choose to keep a daily log if desired. Action #16: Coin toss Allow all of your decisions, no matter how large, and especially small, to be controlled by the toss of a coin. (No best of three). Afterward, reflect on how this (hopefully) complete lack of conscious decision making has affected you.
Potential Artworks to be Completed by You, the Viewer.
Below is a list of potential artworks that can be performed by anyone, one or many times, for an indefinite number of times. They are intended to offer an individual aesthetic experience to the performer. Likewise, they provide an ever increasing community of performers/collaborators and viewers, many of whom are accidental viewers, resulting in a change in perception to our daily living experience. I encourage you to take liberties with these instructions when possible, as well as to document your experiences in any way you see fit. The ideas are owned by me, but as such, they will only exist as typed text for myself and the potential for an aesthetic experience. For you, they can be much more. (Unfortunately, I must say that these instructions are prefaced with the understanding that you have the free will to carry them out or not. Therefore, I cannot be blamed for any harm that comes to you or others as a result of your performance of these actions.) Thomas Friel 2008/11 Action #1: Jackson Pollock Memorial Painting Buy a 6 - pack of cheap beer in either 12 oz. or 16 oz. cans. Drink it alone. Fill cans with paint; any kind, any color. Mix with water if desired. Place cans on top of un-stretched canvas or white sheet in any arrangement you decide. Crush cans swiftly with foot. Action #2: Ownership Buy, find or steal an object, preferably something used or previously owned, just not by you. Bring it home. Study it using as many senses as possible. Name it. keep it with you for an entire day. Take it everywhere you go. Urinate and/or masturbate on it in complete privacy. Do you feel connected to it? Throw it out to end. Action #3: Trash Relocation Project Sweep up all the trash on the street which you live. Spray paint everything larger than a quarter white on the outside, leaving the inside or underside dirty. Place in a neat pile on the corner sidewalk and leave there until trash day. Action #4: Fountain Get a bottle of water. Stand in the middle of the street or busy sidewalk. Take as big a mouthful of water as possible and project an arcing stream out of your mouth, as evenly as possible. Stand on one leg, or assume traditional cherub fountain position. Repeat until bottle is empty. Walk through the puddle of water you made and do not look back. Action #5: Being Yourself Take a picture of your face. Photocopy it as large as your own face. You can choose to have this as detailed as possible, or continue copying each subsequent copy so that most of the detail is gone. Cut eye holes and attach a string or rubber band to either side. Wear it all day, going about your daily routine. *You may also opt to do the same thing to your hands. Action #6: The Monster Obtain a large white sheet, a halloween mask and gloves (preferably altered or made of cardboard or cheap/free materials. Find a friend who is either easy for you to lift OR can lift you easily. With one person on the other’s shoulders and in the costume, stomp around the town and crush things as a tall monster! Action #7: Feed the Rich Dress as though you are homeless. Stand in the financial district in the town which you live on a weekday afternoon. Give change to those walking by. (Consider a sign that says: "Please, any change I can give you would help." handwritten on cardboard.) Action #8: Product Placement 1 Go into a store. Steal one product. Throw it out in a trash can just outside the store. Action #9: Product Placement 2 Go into a store. Put a used object, a natural object, or something that has no value, etc., neatly displayed on a shelf with a price tag. Leave. Action #10: Last Day on Earth Pick a day to be the imagined last day of your life. Live it as if it truly were. Could you now die happy? Action #11: Vocabulary Limitation Limit your speech to these five words for one day: yes, no, me, you, what. Go about your daily routine. Try not to rely on hand signals or written/typed communication. Action #12: Channeling the Living Put yourself in a quiet room with no distractions. Sit in a comfortable position with a picture of someone you know or object of theirs in your hands or in front of you. Focus only on thinking of them. Repeat the word “hello” to them over and over. Later, call them and ask if they thought of you today. Action #13: Instant Parade Gather at least 3 friends. Go to a grocery store parking lot. Buy or bring crepe paper, balloons and any other parade items you choose. Decorate one or two (or more) carts. Start the parade in the lot with one person pushing the cart and one person waving at passerby. Action #14: No Landfill Go one full day without throwing anything out in a trash can or dumpster. This includes uneaten food, food wrappers, beverages, house hold trash, office trash, etc. Collect it all in one neat pile and photograph. Display photograph prominently for at least one week. Action #15: Meeting New People Meet one new person everyday for a week. Initiate conversation with them, ask questions and focus on relating to them as they are. Introduce yourself and get their name as well. (Those inside a circle of friends, met through mutual friends or as work related clients do not count; they should all be total strangers et completely through the curse of your and their day.) You may choose to keep a daily log if desired. Action #16: Coin toss Allow all of your decisions, no matter how large, and especially small, to be controlled by the toss of a coin. (No best of three). Afterward, reflect on how this (hopefully) complete lack of conscious decision making has affected you.