Happy Holidays!

Our idea of decorating a Christmas tree at Target came from our intent to keep our last project light and fun! Our group decided to spread some holiday cheer and help the Target employees out by putting together a beautiful tree, although the Target employees may not have been all that happy with us! To our surprise, the shoppers did not pay us any attention....not one person said anything to us or even looked our way. By the end of our decorating we were attracting a lot of attention from the Target employees, but they never asked us what we were doing or to stop. I imagine you can still see our beautiful tree at the Target on Ben White and South Lamar!

http://www.twitvid.com/D6DSI

Happy Holidays!
Margaux, Megan, Victoria (our adopted member!), and Melinda

Gift Wrapped Trees

Every holiday season consumer trends go in an out of style. Some plastic toy that everyone rushed to purchase last year may be in the discount bin this year. There does seem to be a constant through out every year of holiday shopping, the act of wrapping the gifts. In nearly every mall and department store across America there is an area in which customers can wrap their plastic toys and clothing.

What we decided to stage for our performance art piece was a public gift wrapping session, very much in the same manner what a person may see at a shopping mall. Though instead of wrapping consumer nonsense, we've decided to holiday wrap trees in forest right off of campus.

Why Trees?

We felt that wrapping trees instead of something one might find in a mall would shed light on our American consumer culture, and in some way make the audience appreciate the gifts that are all around them throughout the entire year.

Life on the Go

->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=087F70scXws&noredirect=1<-
Location: South Congress
Duration: constantly moving forward
Narrative: Walking through life focused on oneself trying to get by fast without noticing too much what her surroundings are. (dressing and getting ready for her day)
Sound: Song- No Sleep instrumental by Wiz Khalifa
Choreography: Walking forward but behind a walking mirror; getting dressed for the day
Props: Gabby-Girl
Mathew-Waddling Mirror
Shyanne- Cameraman/Editor
Costumes: Gabby- clothes changing (sleep garment to casual outfit)
Mathew- Mirror
Public Interaction: No, stares only.
Audience: pedestrians and drivers down South Congress
Content: Mirror, Clothing, Make-up
Live or Documented: Documented
Video time: 5:14 minutes

Gabryl McCune
Mathew Hernandez
Shyanne Diaz

Free Warmth on a Cold Day

"I will not play tug o' war. I'd rather play hug o' war. Where everyone hugs instead of tugs, Where everyone giggles and rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses, and everyone grins, and everyone cuddles, and everyone wins."  -Shel Silverstein

For our performance art we wanted to offer some comfort and unexpected happiness to people during this time of cold weather and end-of-semester stress. We wanted to do it in an even more public setting, but did not want to compromise our safety (and it is windy out there!), so we did our piece in the Ragsdale building. Ragsdale could guarantee lots of passersby as well as a certain amount of comfort and security. We set up our office in the hallway with Patton and Bella sitting at their desk with a chair for potential participants part of the time, and part of the time they were standing and making themselves a little more obvious. Hannah was across from them secretly documenting the exchanges. We had two signs, one that read "Free therapy and esteem building (not a licensed professional)" and the other read "Step into my warm embrace."

We stayed in the hallway for about 45 minutes and received 7 hugs as well as countless laughs and a few scowls. The general reaction was that people were amused or uncomfortable. Many people stopped to ask about why we were doing this. No one really offered up any deep-dark secrets, which may have been for the best. Men seemed to be more willing to receive hugs than women.

Overall we had a lot of fun doing this project and we believe we succeeded in providing some warmth and joy for strangers.

"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can."  -John Wesley

-Patton, Hannah, and Bella-

An Original Christmas

http://www.twitvid.com/D6DSI

Created by Margaux, Meagan & Melinda.

Cleaning up the Capital

The main focus around our presentation was to clean up the capital. With all of the occupy movements that have been taking place around the United States, we felt it would be appropriate to do something similar. We took a broom and a mop and went to the steps of the capital and began cleaning up. We even ran into a couple supporters of the occupy movement.

We were inspired by Milan Kohout and his work in China on August 10, 2009 when he mopped Tiananmen Square.

- Austin Thurmond

- Alex Bueno

- Christian Robles

"Popping" Colors in Nature

For our final, our group decided to to make a painting in nature to tie in our "Art in the Environment" Theme. We decided that we wanted to fill balloons full of paint and throw them from a tree onto a board to make a spontaneous painting.

Our materials:

1 poster board (filled with thumb tacks)

ten balloons filled with various colors of paint

a tree

an iphone (for pictures and video)

We found a tree on campus to throw the balloons from. Like all art, we had trouble with our initial concept. The balloons would not pop, despite our best efforts (and 20 thumb tacks), when we threw from the tree. Suddenly, we were very involved in the project. There was disappointment when the balloons didn't pop and extreme elation when they did. It was almost like watching your favorite sports team perform. Finally, we found that if we stayed on the ground and threw them at different angles they would pop. When the balloons bounced and didn't pop, they knocked pieces of bark and leaves onto the painting. We decided that it looked very unique so we left the pieces in the painting. Our title came from the inspiration how colors "pop" in nature. Like brightly colored flowers and trees. We wanted to choose bright colors for the painting to reflect our favorite bright colors from nature. The dark bark and dead leaves contrast nicely with the colors. Even though it was cold and raining, we had a lot of fun making the painting and are really happy with the results.

Here is a short, humorous video, revealing the trials and tribulations involved in throwing paint-filled balloons in ridiculously cold weather.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOw1KvaeWBA&fb_source=message

Happy Holidays Everyone!

~Sehaam, Tait, and Sam

When You Were Young

When you were young is a project that would be done to raise awareness to people who live in areas whose integrity has been compromised by their elected representatives, and subject to neglect. The concept would be to print huge pictures of representatives and hang them in expensive and elaborate frames that would show the public the people who exactly represents them. Instead of using pictures they used for campaigning, baby pictures or pictures of the representatives would be hung. This would be to show the public, who might have feelings of anger, that these people who once innocent children too.


One example of an area that has not been treated fairly:
http://tinyurl.com/6nagxav

My hope is that this project will reach people and encourage them to get more involved in the community so that they can make their community a better place, either by participating in voting, or by writing letters to their local representatives.

-Samantha Lynn Ramirez

Urban Picnic

My inspiration for the “Urban Picnic” project is doing things out of the ordinary. As a kid I’ve always loved two things profoundly 1. Picnics and 2. Astonishing City Views. You can always experience a nice view of the sky horizon or a combination of trees, lakes, trails, and the city (at times) at the park. Depending where you live. I like to combine both things together to fuse concepts and experience a new subgenre of activity an“Urban Picnic.”

My plan is to make an available space for 2-4 people. So, therefore if each piece of sod is 16in (1ft 4 in.) x 24 in (2ft) and the average female in the US is 5ft 4in and 5ft 9in for males, then a 10x5 piece of sods will make a perfect rectangle to fit about 2-4 people. Putting lights around the designated sod area is good for warning cyclists or even pedestrians that there is a designated piece



of land that is unleveled with the rest of the ground surrounding it. Have the main piece be in the Pedestrian bridge but have other locations in order to see the city in an array of angles. “Different angles, different point of views, different interpretations, different atmospheres, different feelings.” The piece that would be located on the Whole Foods rooftop would be to feel the urban feeling on top of a building.

Materials:
The Materials needed would be sods of grass. Portable lights to put around the sods for night lighting. Signs for area designated for picnicking.

Locations:
The Main Location will be the Lamar Pedestrian Bridge. With a Length of 32 ft. it and an infinite width (according to my sod measures)

Other Locations include:

The Foundation on Castle Hill (W. 12th street)

The Whole Foods rooftop on (W. 6th street and Lamar)

Length is infinite and width for Whole Foods rooftop is infinite (according to my sod calculations)
 

This piece on top of whole foods rooftop is (20ft in length and infinite in width (according to my sod calculations)

Audience:
Mostly "Austinites", Food Lovers, Adventurous people. Food Lovers, Why? Because if you enjoy good food why not enjoy it in a good atmosphere? Adventurous people, Why? Because this concept about an "Urban Picnic" just expands in the idea of new adventures and explorations. Discovering a combination of ideas perhaps people never stopped and thought of.

Check out Urban Intervention Green Corner by Otto Karvonen and Jon Irigoyen!

Pure Imagination

"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men."

At first my idea was just a centrally-located super park...but since our ideas are supposed to be without the constraints of time, money, or any other sort of practicality I revised it to a centrally-located gastronomically pleasing wonderland; a lush jungle full of flowers, candy, trees, and pizza. An aesthetically enjoyable fantastyland called Gum Drop Gardens!

My inspiration for this proposal was the colorful and tasty and fun. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, written by Roald Dahl and first brought to the big screen by Mel Stuart, was a major influence. The board game “Candyland” was also in the back of my mind when coming up with this park. Lastly, the stereotype of Holland and the beautiful flower farms located there are a real-life inspiration. I think this installation would appeal to a very broad audience. Children and adults alike could enjoy it for its beauty and the escapism it provides. Too many pieces are for a small audience only, and many times they are intended for an educated, adult audience, I would like something that pleases a more general group.

The materials could be pretty varied, but some aspects are necessary. It would need an evergreen grass of some kind, so that it is perma-appealing to picnic and frolic in. This would probably also require an irrigation system due to our hellish weather. It would be lovely if some genius could develop a water recycling program for the park so that it is not constantly wasting water. Other than that it needs a variety of plants, candies, food, and trees. Large candy mushrooms are a must as are edible buttercups. There is a large variety of flowers that are perfectly safe to eat (though they not necessarily tasty) so I would like them to be in the park as well. I would like it to have rolling hills similar to the ones Maya Lin installed at the University of Michigan.

The location is somewhat flexible but it would need to be in the central part of town and accessible by public transportation so that it is welcoming to everyone. I really like the idea of living art in urban settings and I wish we had more of it in Austin. The area around 5th and Lamar is my idea of central and a great location. It would also be nice to put it on water, in which case Lady Bird Lake would be an excellent site. Replacing a strip mall or high rise with a community garden is a nice idea too. So it may never happen, and nutritionists may hate it, but at least it will live on in a blog post for a GenEd class.

"Invention, my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ-uV72pQKI

-Hannah

Keep Austin Weird...and Recyling

For my Public Art, I would like to propose recycling bins. While it is assumed everyone knows how to recycle (ie. Throw recyclable items into the bin), I want to make people want to recycle. By having the bins themselves attract the audience, it is my belief that these will encourage the action of recycling. Perhaps the trend will popularize by word of mouth as participants tell their friends or colleagues of a “cool place” to recycle. Something different I would like to incorporate is a meter or scale to give an incentive to the recycler. By this, I mean, for every item dropped into the proper reciprocal, the scale will increase towards a goal. For example, in the paper bin, the goal might be to save a tree and by recycling more and more paper, a tree will be saved.

I was inspired by seeing many efforts such as "More Art. Less Trash." to make artistic and visually appealing recycling bins to encourage people to recycle.

The location I wish to use is on 6^th street and Congress Ave due to its high volume of people daily and the ability to be creative in keeping Austin “weird”. There is a bus stop on the southbound side I wish to utilize for the expectation that many people will either board or get off at this stop when spending time on 6^th street. In order to capture the audience’s attention, the images I will use will be specific to Austin only. For these images, I wish to hire an artist who would have to compete with other local artists, and ultimately be decided by the people.

On the recycling bin designated for paper, I would like a portrait of Willie Nelson because of his importance to Austin.

For the glass, I want a portrait of bats because they have called Austin home for years, and the location is close to the Bat Bridge.

On the recycling bin designated for aluminum, I want a portrait of Leslie because everyone in Austin needs to know about him, and if they don’t know, then this could be a perfect opportunity to find out.

On the bottom of each bin, it will read “Keep Austin Weird”, and of course, the corresponding bins will be Keep- Willie, for his loyalty to Austin, Austin- Bats, because Austin is their home, and last, but not least, Weird- Leslie, for his contributions to Austin.

The materials I will use will be plastic. Plastic is what most recycling bins are made out of due to its ability to be almost 100% recyclable. In order to preserve the art and keep it authentic, I will place a shatter proof glass around all three bins as a whole, in order to protect the art while having the same visual aesthetic.

Gabryl

More Than Just A Bus Stop

My public art proposal was inspired by the numerous citizens in Austin who take the bus, ride their bikes, or walk to where they want to go. So what more of a perfect place to install a public work of art than at a bus stop? This bus stop would not just be one single art installation, but rather a collection of art installations changed monthly and created by local Austin artists. Each month, one local artist from Austin would have the opportunity to build on, around, and inside of a bus stop, making it their own creation while still maintaining a bus stop’s practical value.

Interchangeable panels on the sides, inside, and top of the seating areas could be canvases for these artists and give them the chance to have their art seen. Benches could also be transformed into amazing works of art given the materials of either steel or wood. Included with the art installation will be a short biography of the artist along with his or her contact information. The possibilities and usable materials are really endless, given the amount of talent found in this city. This art would not only be seen by bus users, but also practically everyone in Austin.





The bus stop on the intersection of Brazos and 6th Street is the perfect location for this project since it is in the heart of downtown Austin.



This project ends up benefitting a large percentage of Austin. Not only will it be an opportunity for an artist to display his or her work, but it also provides visual stimulation and appeal for an ordinary person going about their day.





-Sehaam Ahmed

Checkmate

After living in the on-campus apartments here at St. Edwards for nearly a semester, I came to one conclusion; they are extremely boring. After experiencing the intense drought from last summer, the apartments look even more depressing then they were the year before. I figured that this public art proposal project was an excellent way to do something about it.

The idea that I came up with is to have a giant checker board put in place behind the apartment office building. It would also include bastketball goals on two ends of the checker board. This way it would not be just a giant random checkerboard, but also not just another concrete basketball court.

The idea behind the checkerboard is that it would serve as a massive interactive tool to get the people that live in the apartments to get to know each (I still have not met my next door neighbors and its almost Thanksgiving break).

The checkerboard itself would be made out of square foot, hard-plastic pieces that fit together like a puzzle. They are extremely durable and would be garunteed to last many years as long as they keep their regular, minimal maintenance.

The checkers that would go along with the board would be light-weight wooden pieces that would be treated with a weather-proofing material so the sun, rain, etc. would have little effect on them.

Maintaing the checkerboard would be a hassle and nobody would ever volunteer to pick up the pieces, so it proposes an excellent job opportunity for students who are looking to make a little extra money.

The idea of having a giant checkerboard in the apartments is very exciting. I believe that people in the apartments would enjoy it very much and they would also get to know each other a lot better than they do now. At a reletively small cost, the potential benefits make it well worth it.

Concrete Tree Art Proposal

My Inspiration:
Impervious cover: “is the amount of land cover in roads, buildings and parking lots, and turf grass cover in a watershed and can seriously impact biotic integrity in associated streams” (US EPA).

Impervious cover affects humans: can lead to rapid flooding and due to runoff water, can contaminate water supplies. Naturally, water would seep into the soil and the soil would act as a filter for the water as it moves its way into the watershed. Natural areas slow the flow of water during heavy rains and the absorption process takes in some of the excess water.
The City of Austin did a study over 10 years ago that included estimated percentages of impervious cover in different Austin settings. I am focusing on downtown and the study indicated that the coverage is around 60%. Austin’s has grown substantially since this study took place: more development means more impervious cover (http://www.crwr.utexas.edu/).
A study by the State of Virginia states that hundred year floods can double in likelihood by exceeding impervious cover levels over 30 percent and they state that 15 percent impervious is ideal to maintain a healthy watershed (http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/documents/lrDEImperviousCover.pdf).

Impervious cover also damages animals on land and in the water. The water can be unhealthy for drinking due to toxins from roads and sidewalks, including litter and oil.
This is harmful for animals that live in the water for similar reasons.

So, my inspiration is decreasing impervious cover through sustainable development that allows enough greenspace for a safe water supply for humans and animals.

Determining my Location:
My proposed public art centers on impervious cover and all its implications, so its site is very important. I need an urban site with a lot of new construction and very little greenspace. I want to place my “tree” on a small plot of grass along a sidewalk that Austinites frequent. Downtown will be ideal for this and the plot of grass needs to be flat.

I found my site: 2nd St. and Guadalupe

Audience:

My audience will be the general public. Hopefully, this will include builders and city planners among the shopping foot-traffic. There will be a plaque with a brief explanation of my reasoning behind the proposed public artwork.

Materials:
Concrete: 5 cu.Yds. $75yd x 5 = $375
Steel: 2 tons. $560ton x 2= $1120
Welder: $250hr= $20,000

Total Cost: $21,495





Plans:
1. Get permission to use the space.
2. Buy materials.
3. Get a welder.
4. Make the tree. Approximately 18ft tall and 12 ft wide at it’s maximum. The trunk diameter should be between ¾’ and 1’.

The steel will be welded in the shape of the tree. I choose steel as a material because my research indicated it was strong enough to bear the weight of concrete. After the tree has been welded and bolted to the ground, concrete will coat it entirely. Last, the place will be placed.

by: Meagan Kaufman

Pit Bull Lover!

My art proposal was inspired by the event I attended this past weekend called the Texas Sized Pittie Pride to give a positive image of the dog's breed, the Pit Bull. This event was created by an association dedicated to this breed called Love-A-Bull. I was happy to attend this event because I am an animal lover myself. I agree on the fact that we can't blame and mistreat this breed for being mean. It is all about the responsibility of the owner. If a dog is mean it is not the fault of the dog but the owner. It doesn't have to do anything with the Pit Bull or any other breed of dogs. It all about the owner. What education he has been given to him so he is like that. STOP putting blame on the Pit Bull they are lovely!

My art proposal is to create a BIG Pit Bull statue surrounded by a BIG heart. The material will be bronze. It will put in front of the different animal shelters in Austin such as Austin Pets Alive or the new Austin Animal Center. As well as all locations related to the pets. It can be stores like PetCo as well as all the dog parks. The statue will be located near the entrance. So that the future adopters will be attracted by this statue before coming in. It will give a positive image and will show that all the animal lover workers are also supportive. They don't mistreat any kind of breed. Love your pit bull and show to others that they can be as nice as any other breed of dogs.

Created by: Margaux Tavernier