La Inspiracion

The project I chose to do was inspired by my conversation with a manager for La Posada dining hall's night shit. He expressed his feelings that an inspirational message from students wound counteract the negative sentiment that the employees there usually feel from the students of UNM. I produced three copies of a letter addressed to the La Posada employees from the students of UNM and then collected signatures from various students across campus. Of the three that were posted two were removed when I checked today but one- the one posted in the workers bulletin board had survived. I have already received several compliments from the employees and have also begun a larger project in association with the RHA or residence halls association. They are now constructing a larger banner and obtaining many more signatures than I was able to myself.

Please take me! Glass Bottles at Bus Stops

I wanted this project to involve more interaction between the artist and also interaction between other people. Instead of hanging the glass bottles, I made them more accessible by simply placing them on the ground or on benches. I continued to use bus stops as the location for each bottle. I placed two bottles at each bus stop along Central. On the side of each bottle is a note that says "Please take me!" The note also lists several options on what you can do if you find the bottle (keep it, give it to a friend, place it somewhere else, etc.) One of the options reads "Let me know what you did with it/where you placed it by emailing me at samantharaeandrews@gmail.com" I wanted people to have the opportunity to connect with me and let me know what they did with the bottle instead of it remaining a mystery. The meaning of the project remains to stop and appreciate the little things that we usually pass by or take for granted. However, this time I think the message can be passed on to others because the directions on the bottle are more explicit. I wanted this project to spark conversation between people at the bus stop because during my interview I discovered that many people don't communicate at all when they commute on public transportation. I also wanted this project to be less noticeable than my previous one because I believe that someone (security, APD, custodians) may have removed the glass bottles that were hanging on the metal fence. I think this project is more subtle, and therefore more personal.

Free Hugs :)

From our interviews we solidified the SUB as our site for our next project because both interviewees stated that it was a prime place to target a great deal of the UNM student body.  Once it was time for us to actually do the project, we decided to take it a step further and pick a specific site within the SUB, we choose the staircase because we felt like that there would be more possible interaction there.  From our interviews, we were informed how the SUB is a great place for students to get involved.  We have noticed from our numerous ventures through the SUB that there is a lot of interaction, but we felt that there could be even more interaction with people who were not already familiar with each other.  The basis of our creative action was to spark these interactions, as well as, incite some dialogue.  Our venture ended up being extremely successful and enjoyable! :)

Interview

I still wanted to go with the idea of direct interaction with people and letting them contribute to the artwork. I finally got to interview an anonymous street photographer. I asked him questions about how he defined "street photography" and how it was important to him. We also discussed how he interacts with his subjects and how they display culture and society. He said he's never had an aggressive encounter, in fact most people enjoy playing along. As much as I love the idea of really pulling people into a project, I've been afraid of someone not wanting to play along. It looks like that doesn't happen all too often though, and it may be better to reach out more.
He said he hadn't thought much of specifically looking at cultural/societal aspects of his artwork, but he liked to group together common themes that he saw as he was working, e.g. bicycles at night. He mainly liked how "up close and personal" he could get with his subjects in their natural environment, people just being themselves.

What caught my attention most about Lorraine was that she liked to ride a Harley. When I picture a Harley I picture ruff, dirty, older, tatted men with skin so stretched and ruff you could sand down a toboggan with it. Lorraine is an older woman with adult kids, she is kind, and from what I could tell her skin looked pretty darn moisturized.  This lady seems so far distant from the image I have of motorcycle wielders.  Where does her life as a janitor end and her life as a hard ass woman begin?  That when I realize they have always been the same... it's just the first time I've  realized it, because I took the time to talk to her.  My piece combines a few key elements from the interview: Harley, a mop, and her favorite color white.  The mop both references to her job, but also is her favorite task on the job.  She enjoyed mopping.  So I make a half mop half Harley apparatus.  I realize its good and bad, ying and yang, reference and I like it. We all have these sides of ourselves that are rough, and sides that our soft.  This interview was all about finding out what I could about both.  I also painted a wall (kids washable paint) and it reads "not your average janitor".  What is your average janitor?  Who is your average janitor? If there is one thing I have learned from this interview is that you just never know the depth of a person until you ask.

A SUB Regular

Bridget and I are doing project #3 together, the site we have in mind is the SUB.  I decided to interview a student who is always passing through the SUB, as well as, spending extended periods of time in there.  His name is Ashkii Hatathlie; he is a current ASUNM senator.  The ASUNM office is in the basement of the SUB. 

Here is a small bit of the interview:

How often are you in the SUB?

• Everyday.

How long of periods do you spend in the SUB?

• Anywhere from 1 to 3 hours at a time.

How do you feel about the events that are put on in the SUB?

• I feel like they are beneficial to the students, they get people involved.  It gives students something to do.

How do you feel about the advertisements displayed around the SUB?

• Student flyers are the only things that are allowed in the SUB, but I think they are affective.  The boards outside the SUB that have a variety of flyers can be useful if students are looking for something specific, but they are not very eye-catching.

Do you think the events and flyers are targeting a wide variety of people?

• Yes, I think so.  The stuff in the SUB is all geared towards college students.

Do you think that they are affective techniques to get people involved and spread information?

• Yes.  Outreach in general is good, in person is even better.

Do you think there are any other places on campus that you think would be more affective to target more students?

• The SUB is the central gathering place to find most students throughout the week.  If you were targeting a certain group, then maybe a different place would be better.  For example, if you were targeting residential life, then flyers would be efficient in dorm areas.  But if it is just for the general masses, then the SUB is the most efficient.  

Librarians...

For my interview I spoke to librarians at Zimmerman, The Fine Arts and Design library, and at The Center for Southwest Research. I asked them all questions surrounding the defacement of books and whether or not it was prevalent. The only librarian who saw the most vandalism was the one at the Fine Arts library. She said that the musicians always wrote annotations on the different scores and that people would cut out different pictures from the art books. She said that many of the erotic books ended up getting cut up because either the readers wanted the picture, or found it too vulgar for public display. All of the librarians agreed that they viewed people writing or drawing in books as vandalism and wished people would consider those who want to use the books next. I told them about my art project with the post it notes and asked them I they considered it vandalism, and they said that because it was aesthetically pleasing and didn't add or take away to the book that they didn't consider it vandalism. The librarian at The Center for Southwest Research said they never had a problem with vandalism due to the strict protocol surrounding the use of their books. All three interviews were relatively bland, so I think I should consider talking to the people who read the books.