"Square One"

There has been a slight change in plans, with my project. In the beginning it felt like a complete return to square one, and although that is true in many ways, im working towards taking this forward using this as an insight and looking at other forms of abstraction.

After my last review i did the following:

Ideated upon and planned the experiments with line, color and shape:

Mindmapping
Free-association of colour line and shape elements - where do we see them originally.
Looking at existing elements in the place and seeing how i could subvert them.
Observation of uses of space - looking to insert elements that would (ideally) change the use of the space in some way.
Looking at various 'natural' activities in public places and looking to create interactions around them.

Different levels of interaction:
Passive :
insert something in the environment that has to be interacted with - pavements, walkways, gates, staircases, walls.
- markers or boxes for sitting or waiting in places that are informally used for these activities.- staircases, signal crossing.
- a 'path' traced out on a pavement.
- tracing the pattern of spit on walls, by simulating the same splatters with different colored paints.

Mildly active:
the viewer could choose or not choose to interact with such an intervention- this decision would primarily be recorded as the reaction.
- game outlines in the space in front of shops (inside an enclosed complex), where children usually wait outside while their parents are busy inside.
- mazes on sidewalks and pathways

Active:
where the piece of work is created or completed purely by people's participation.
- tracing paths-
- colored footsteps. - place trays of paint on the floor- near the overhead walkway- and ask people to step in and make a mark with their footsteps- how people play and react with such a level of interactivity.
- threads- tying different colored threads to one side of the walkway, at one pint, and give the spools to people walking by, to be unravelled wherever they went as far as they would go.
etc.

Planned the execution:

After my initial experiences in the city, where i was receiving a lot of unwanted attention and troublesome behavior on part of the public, i decided that i would have to resort to some sort of "guerilla tactics" and catch the place at times when there are as few people around as possible. This i figured would be early morning, since it is a commercial area which usually opens around 10 am.
So i carried my materials and reached the place at 7 am, which gave me a 3 to 4 hour margin before the real people-traffic started to come in.
The experiments that i planned were using simple materials, (colored insulation tape and paint, colored thread) that i could handle alone, and could be used 'on the spot' since i dont have a team, nor the time for 'pieces' that would require a certain level of production.
After testing these out on surfaces i went out with them. and started work. i also borrowed a hand-held camera and tripod ( to use in case, but mosty i was planning to shoot quite discreetly) and was ready to document reactions.


The problems arose with the experiences with people that i repeatedly had while trying to construct these pieces. I became more of a spectacle than the pieces themselves. even in the early hours i was attracting unwanted audiences. who would linger to see what i was up to and thus ruin it for any one else who came by, since people would automatically side-step a crowd. Repeatedly i have been feeling that this 'form' of public art or interventions is impractical at the scale and time-frame with which i am working, and is these practicality issues are coming in the way of the content i want to to talk about.
The same recurring experiences after many attempts pulled me back to assess the situation practically. I realize that part of the problem was due to my 'image' as well. a girl in jeans and sweatshirt/kurta wielding a camera sticking tape and paint on a sidewalk at 7 am would hardly go unnoticed anywhere.But this behavior also made me realize that there are factors involved for me, a female artist working on the streets, that i could not control or help in any way, and was being detrimental to my process. At an individual scale this would almost be impossible to handle.
The idea of using this public art medium was to be able to deal with the image in the place that it is coming from. a more 'activated' form of articulation. however this is not happening as the audience is not on the same page, there exists no real platform for such work unless there exists a 'culture' for it already. it is proving too hard to crack.

An example of a conversation that i had might give you a clearer idea of what i am talking about:

over many previous observations the theater on Iyengar Rd, I had noticed a certain pattern and placement in the way people sit on the front steps while waiting for the show.
So, 9 am in the morning i went up into the theater and spoke to the two people in charge that i could see standing out there, and one sweeper boy sweeping the steps. as i explained to them that i wanted to stick a little tape on their front steps (outline squares of red placed in a pattern on the steps) and that it was for an art project that i was doing from college and whether they would please let me do it. ( this entire bit of the conversation was carried out in telugu- which i was hoping would earn me some brownie points too.) They seemed alright with it and agreed.
Upon installing my 'boxes', i took a small video of the place and decided o come back in some time to catch the crowd for the first show.
as i started to walk away i was frantically called back and asked when i was going to remove the tape. i was perplexed- since i thought i had explained myself already, but to be on the clearer side asked when the first crowd would come ( 10.30 am) and whether i could keep it there till then.
suddenly the theater manager bursts out in english "no no i cannot allow that. this is a public place and the pubic will be arriving shortly. you cannot put up your 'art' here. please remove it and leave."
I tried to explain that that was the whole idea behind 'public art' - that the public has to be able to see it, but to no avail. i asked what was the inconvenience being caused by some tape on the stairs, it wasn't in anyone's way. All he would say is " i cannot allow this in a public place. go walk down the road and find some other place." I had to remove the tape and walk on.

The same issue i had in many places, including a man coming up to me and telling me i might get arrested if i use permanent paint in public places.

The rest of the experiences were nothing more than street harassment.

I see the irony in these situations and am almost tempted to look at this project through that lens. but of course that is a complete de-railment of my project and the content that i want to deal with and talk about.

The conclusion i reached finally was that there are things that i want to talk about but this form has been wasting my time and getting me stuck. the audience is not on the same page. the reflectivity of a visual, is what i want to insert. but there exists no platform for it. as a solo artist working at this scale is impossible. i need to create a spectacle to out-do the existing spectacle. which is not the point of my project at all.

Since i was so thoroughly discouraged with the possibility of dialogue with people using image, i started to naturally gravitate towards forms that i could control more easily , that would be within my control, give me the space to talk about the content that i want to talk about. These forms being photography, graphic design, writing, and maybe video.

I notified my panel regarding the same, and although they agreed, im going to have to work fast.
Review 3.5 is coming up and im working on gathering material and articulating further steps..

It’s not a comparison of one imperfect possibility with a perfect one, it’s a question of which goal is attainable.

more coming soon.