About the Project
the Spring of 2014, April 5th to be exact, I was showing off my new set of Artist's Book Ideation Cards to my friend Audrey Lute.
The cards were designed by American artists Barbara Tetenbaum and Julie Chen to "jump start a new project or inform one in progress". There are two decks in the set: Category Cards containing approximately eight cards in each of the seven categories, text, image, structure, paper, layout, technique and colour; and 54 Adjective Cards. If you choose a card randomly from each of the seven categories and five cards from the adjectives you get an unexpected recipe for a project.
Audrey and I were relaxing with a glass of wine and drawing cards to see what our "recipes" would be. It didn't take long for ideas to start flowing. What if we asked all our "artsy" friends to draw cards and start a project with us?
We started making a list of emerging artists, mid-career artists, established artists, professional artists, art teachers, art students, art administrators, self-taught artists, artists with a formal education in the arts, and self-proclaimed "hobby artists". Anyone with an email address was added to our list. We asked each artist to take a leap of faith and join us in an adventure. In the end we had only a random sampling of the artists we knew. Inevitably there were artists left out.
Based on the Ideation Cards, each participant was given a unique set of guidelines to use in constructing one work of art. There was one opportunity to trade a single category and a single adjective. There were to be no rules and no judging. Everyone was given 12 months to complete the project and send us 3 images, one image with a full view of the work and two images with views of detail, along with a short statement and biography. We also asked that they keep their participation confidential.
One of the most interesting facets of this project was the anonymity. It gave the project a unique social implication and added appeal and mystery. The identities of the participants were not to be revealed until we had received all of the requested images. Everyone played by the same rules. Resumes and reputations were not considered. The project turned out to be about more than just the art.
We had some simple goals in mind. We wanted the project to be fun but more importantly we wanted to encourage fellow artists to stretch themselves creatively and to work outside their comfort zones. It was also about levelling the playing field between artists from different geographical areas, different lifestyles, and varying levels of art education and experience.
We had no budget and we were not prepared to ask participating artists for entry fees or donations. We knew that at the end of the year the images had to be shared and the names of participating artists revealed so Audrey & I made a commitment to create a virtual gallery of the submitted art as well as a print-on-demand "Blurb" book that would be available to the participating artists at cost from Blurb.com.
Through regular monthly email updates and a website, itsmorethanjusttheart.weebly.com , we kept participants informed about our "work in progress". Reactions to our strange request have been fascinating. We have been overwhelmed by the response we have had and we are very excited to share the results!
The cards were designed by American artists Barbara Tetenbaum and Julie Chen to "jump start a new project or inform one in progress". There are two decks in the set: Category Cards containing approximately eight cards in each of the seven categories, text, image, structure, paper, layout, technique and colour; and 54 Adjective Cards. If you choose a card randomly from each of the seven categories and five cards from the adjectives you get an unexpected recipe for a project.
Audrey and I were relaxing with a glass of wine and drawing cards to see what our "recipes" would be. It didn't take long for ideas to start flowing. What if we asked all our "artsy" friends to draw cards and start a project with us?
We started making a list of emerging artists, mid-career artists, established artists, professional artists, art teachers, art students, art administrators, self-taught artists, artists with a formal education in the arts, and self-proclaimed "hobby artists". Anyone with an email address was added to our list. We asked each artist to take a leap of faith and join us in an adventure. In the end we had only a random sampling of the artists we knew. Inevitably there were artists left out.
Based on the Ideation Cards, each participant was given a unique set of guidelines to use in constructing one work of art. There was one opportunity to trade a single category and a single adjective. There were to be no rules and no judging. Everyone was given 12 months to complete the project and send us 3 images, one image with a full view of the work and two images with views of detail, along with a short statement and biography. We also asked that they keep their participation confidential.
One of the most interesting facets of this project was the anonymity. It gave the project a unique social implication and added appeal and mystery. The identities of the participants were not to be revealed until we had received all of the requested images. Everyone played by the same rules. Resumes and reputations were not considered. The project turned out to be about more than just the art.
We had some simple goals in mind. We wanted the project to be fun but more importantly we wanted to encourage fellow artists to stretch themselves creatively and to work outside their comfort zones. It was also about levelling the playing field between artists from different geographical areas, different lifestyles, and varying levels of art education and experience.
We had no budget and we were not prepared to ask participating artists for entry fees or donations. We knew that at the end of the year the images had to be shared and the names of participating artists revealed so Audrey & I made a commitment to create a virtual gallery of the submitted art as well as a print-on-demand "Blurb" book that would be available to the participating artists at cost from Blurb.com.
Through regular monthly email updates and a website, itsmorethanjusttheart.weebly.com , we kept participants informed about our "work in progress". Reactions to our strange request have been fascinating. We have been overwhelmed by the response we have had and we are very excited to share the results!