$0.00 — $3,400.00 — $0.00
I am curious to feel the “when” of an object becoming and unbecoming a commodity. How are monetary assignments of value increased or decreased and how much agency do I have within this system? How can an objects ego be challenged?
For $3,400.00, I repurposed two paintings into picnic blankets that remained from a body of work I created several years ago. This series has been circulated in avenues of the art market through e-commerce platforms, exhibitions and proposals to private collectors. I advertised for the event through a couple posts to my instagram story and brought the two paintings to the generous, green lawn located near the Boathouse inside of Prospect Park, Brooklyn.
Upon getting to the park, I immediately felt a sense of ease as I undid the wrapping that had stored these paintings for the last 5 years. I cut small seams down the tight saran wrapping that had encased them and flipped my wrist out to unravel them in the same manner you would to unroll a rug. I arranged the two paintings down side by side.
Should I take my shoes off?
I thought about this for awhile. I stared down at the two paintings spread out on the lawn.
Do I take my shoes off normally?
I stepped onto the paintings surface, unpacked the food, made a little pillow out of the empty bags that had carried it and sprawled myself out with a book to read. Shortly after, a family settled in directly behind me.
Would they think I was weird?
Within another moment, a toddler treaded on the side of the ‘painting’ to get to the waters edge, along with their accompanying adult following in suite. It immediately struck me that I was the only one at the park that knew of these objects as paintings and their history of being seen as such. These paintings and I were just another pair of Saturday afternoon Prospect Park sun bathers and picnic havers.
I felt the break and embracement for them to have a new identity and thus myself momentarily freed from the personal and societally induced constraints of how an art object, that has circulated through the art market, should or should not be treated.
$0.00?
