The Mystery Project

Object, by Laura Brent. Wood cup lined with velvet on typewritten card. 2012

I just completed another Art House Co-op project, (My seventh! I love these guys, so inspiring!) called The Mystery Project, where I created an artwork to be left in a public space to be found by a stranger.  Again, this was an inspiring project and really got me thinking on my art making, the objects I create (or not, as the case may be, as a conceptualist), and my audience.

I was sent a kit with supplies to guide me in my creation. Included was a 'theme' and a free Canary Yellow Prismacolor fine art marker. My theme, "Things and the people and places using them" was fairly wide open, and became my main inspiration, as I am often thinking on objects in relation to my art making and how one assigns meaning and value to objects. The marker, with two differently sized, flexible tips, while nice and bold, was fairly uninspiring. The color did not 'pop' for me, and drawing is more of a private activity for me, one that I use in working out my ideas, but that is not my finest skill, and not the primary material presented in my artwork.

Thinking conceptually, I considered what would be considered a pinnacle object in our contemporary society. A cell phone or computer? Which object carries with it the most significance? Did I want to choose some obscure object, or something common to all? I continually kept coming back to Meret Oppenheimer and her Object, having seen it in person at the MoMA.

Object, Meret Oppenheim, 1936

Here was a common object, a cup, altered in such a way as to make it unusable, offering a commentary on how we perceive objects we use and come in contact with every day. By adding the foreign materials, the useful object become useless, converted to art, a surreal object with a higher purpose.

This was what I wanted to create. The cup signifies a communal meeting, an object used to nourish our bodies, and something common at social gatherings.  Using found materials, I altered a wooden cup, lining it with red velvet, and it became something else, a unique special object - art.

I felt badly not following the rules designated for the project, but it was also stated that the work  could take any form, so I went ahead with it.  Expecting the work to be generally misunderstood, (see the previous posts regarding my audience...) I decided to leave it in one of Fort Collins' best coffee house/book stores, The Bean Cycle/Matter Books, hoping that the person who encountered it there would have a basic knowledge of contemporary art, or at least a curiosity to explore. (i.e. book lovers.) The colorful title of the book pictured nearby was the impetus for my final choice of location.

My Mystery Project, installed in its location, near the art & photography books.

The work's reception is a mystery to me. I will never know who sees it, who takes it home as their own, and how it is perceived. But this is part of the adventure of art making, putting one's work out in the world, it is no longer mine, and the public can do with it what they may. It was not easy to leave, as I was quickly becoming attached to it, as I enjoyed its tactile beauty. But, I slyly set it upon the shelf, pretending to look at books, unnoticed by the few folks working nearby on their computers.  Perhaps it may still be there when I return one day. If not, I hope it finds a place where it is appreciated and enjoyed, as I did its creation.

Another view of the work.

Detail of typewritten card.