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.

ArtHouse Sketchbook Project Process, Part 3

This is the third post in a three part series explaining my processes in creating my sketchbook for the Art House Co-Op, in Brooklyn, NY. (Sketchbook Project 2012)


Here is how I re-bound my sketchbook:

First, I started by punching hole in every leaf, and arranged the pages in four groups of four pages each, with a fifth group being made up of the single photograph. I arranged them, and cut the edges even, the corners rounded.


Due to the thickness of my five sections, I decided to make three holes in the cover, planning to use the outer two holes twice and the center one once. I did not want to make 5 separate holes, because I did not want the book to be too thick.


Before sewing, I waxed the binding thread by pulling it through a block of bees' wax. I left plenty of extra thread to tie my knots, and began at the front top outer hole, and wove back and forth through the punched holes in the section and the cover, then back up adding the second section. Once at the top again, I pulled everything tight and tied a knot to secure it.







I continued on, adding the sections one by one, sewing up and down, in and out of my punched holes, until all were tightly in place.




I finished by tying a a secure knot




I added a strip of book binding tape to cover the outside threads, being sure to leave the bar code visible, and voila! It was finished.

Seeing it in its completed state was quite a rush of emotions. I was excited and proud at the results, happy even with the failures as it was a testament to the adventurous process I had undertaken. I hastily took some quick snaps of the project, just in case it was lost in the mail, and packed it up and shipped it off to the Art House Co-op. I plan to visit it sometime on the tour this year, or at its permanent home at the Brooklyn Art Library.

ArtHouse Sketchbook Project Process, Part 2

After much thought and trepidation, I finally began...


I started by unbinding the book, the two small staples tossed into the trash with a freeing gesture of joy at finally getting started, the loose eight pages suddenly feel less intimidating, and I am excited for their journey toward their final completed identities.


I planned to used a liquid photo-emulsion to print photographs directly onto the page, and much thought was spent addressing the layout of the book. I needed to establish where the photographs would be, where the emulsion would need to be placed, which pages were reserved for drawings, etc. The liquid emulsion I used was called "Ag-Plus High Speed Emulsion", and heating was required to liquify it before painting. I set up the painting station in my dark room, with a hot water bath for the emulsion, and progressed to apply the emulsion onto several pages from the sketchbook. The painted pages were left to dry in the dark, and once several layers of the emulsion were applied, the prepped pages were stored in a light tight bag, or loaded into a pinhole camera to await exposure.


The pinhole process was less than satisfactory. I always say, if one feels like a pro', "hot-shot" photographer, just shoot some pinholes to restore one's humility; the process is unpredictable, and results are often unexpected. My issue with the process was that the combination of the pinhole camera making a soft focused image with the soft print quality of the liquid emulsion, created images that were just too blurry to be distinguishable.

I also had issues with the chemistry of the emulsion, getting strange results due to the way the emulsion was pulled between the two leafs. I needed to repeat my processes many times, using a heavier weight paper, and painting the emulsion and exposing the two pages together, yet drying and processing the two pages separately.

Shooting photographs with the theme in mind, (Long Road Trips and Short Phone Calls) I also made prints using the traditional enlarger. Having discovered some vintage negatives, I included images of my paternal grandmother. This image was one of the first successes with the medium.


I continued prepping pages, and shooting photographs, and experimenting with the photo-emulsion and all the ways I could make marks. I used a camera-less procedure, creating photograms with the film and other objects. I was painting and drawing with more traditional mediums when not using the photographic modes, and always thinking of alternative ideas for the project. I would draw over processed photographic images, cutting, and collaging the pages and images together, weaving a visual tapestry.



Eventually, I amassed a pile of completed pages, some successes, some failures, but together they were layered and interwoven with the various techniques I'd used. The messy group felt very disheveled and unorganized, and I was unsure of my feelings about what I'd created, but I was committed to finishing the project. (After meeting Shane, from Art House, in Denver at the Million Little Pictures; Photo-Mobile exhibition, I was shocked to learn that the majority of entries are never returned!!??)



I had four sections, or gatherings, of the individual pages, each containing four leafs. I included one extra section made up of only one photograph, a pinhole image printed on resin coated photo paper. The strange quality of this middle page, seemed to bring the chaos of the other pages together, and being an actual photograph, it is a signature of sorts, a nod to the camera, the machine, I use in my art making. In the end, I included many of the 'failures', as a testament to my process, and really, a sketchbook is a place to experiment, and I wanted to show all the images I had created.

The following post will explain the binding process.

Sketchbook Project with Art House Co-op

When I first received my official book for the Sketchbook Project 2012, an Art House Co-op inspiring project, I was surprised at how small it was, it is just a small 5x7" Scout book, with only 8 leafs or 32 pages. I was also amazed at how large the project was, an inspiring international project with tens of thousands of other artists participating. How could my measly drawings ever stand up to those pressures? The immensity of the project was intimidating, and I spent a long time meditating on how to create my book, what parts of my art making practice to include, and what ideas I wanted to portray. I wanted to make it unique, find a way to stand out in the Brooklyn Library, the permanent home of the collection, (when it was not out on its national tour). I was lacking confidence in my drawing abilities and wondering if signing up had been a mistake. But, a sketchbook is a place an artist explores ideas, a sanctuary, where one can 'mess up' without any real consequences, (beyond lacking beauty). Most artist's sketchbooks are private visions into the inner workings of the artist, something held close to the chest, and rarely, if ever shown to anyone. This project threw those notions all away, it was a glorious adventure, and a great way to expose these private bits to the public, an offering of sorts, a gift to the audience; the mind, materials and praxis of the artist, all laid bare for their enjoyment. This project engages the audience in new and profound ways, offering insight into art making, and a better overall understanding of the art world.

My process was long, and involved many experimental techniques, with new media. As a photographer, it was important to me to bring the camera into the project. To integrate the photograph with the act of sketching. I used liquid photo emulsions, and the capturing of light as a form of mark making, as well as more traditional drawing or painting. I have put this, and the following posts, together to document my process, to share my adventures (or mis-adventures) encountered along the making of my sketchbook.

New Work - A Million Little Pictures: Photomobile

This is an image in my project for Art House Co-Op in Brooklyn, NY, "A Million Little Pictures: Photomobile". My theme was 'the meaning of a photograph'. Shot in Colorado in February 2011 by Laura Brent.