public gallery on wall?

[Mesty Espiara]

i was thinking it would be interesting to have several people walk up to a wall in a public place and set up a "gallery" with a few pieces of framed art stuck on the wall. gradually more people would walk by and start looking at the art as if they were in a real museum or adding art.

if we wanted to go all out we could have someone dressed as a tour guide explaining the significance of each piece. hopefully non-agent passerby would also stop to see it!

[Battlestar5]

I think it might not be good to stick things on the wall, but you could have people dressed in all balck holding the pictures. That sounds like a fun idea!

[Mesty Espiara]

that's a great idea! we should definitely do that if we can get enough people.

[asterisk basilisk]

I like the idea, let's brainstorm. Let's start with these questions.
1) Location ideas. (public versus obscure)
2) Guide's role (does the guide add to the installation or is she the star of the show?)
3) What kind of art? (Wacky or "serious" art?)

My answers:
1) Let's do it near (or in) an art institution like the alley behind SFMOMA or the atrium of the Acadamy of Art where students display their work.
2) Give the guide a megaphone. Have others pretend they're taking the tour. Will attract more people and lend it strange authority.
3) Go to Good Will, buy a bunch of framed art. Hang it with adhesive backed hooks. The art should be mundane and tongue-in-cheek, but the Guide's B.S. should make it interesting.

[Michael McDonald]

Variation on this idea: hang empty frames in front of existing murals and graffiti art, and then treat it like the inside of an art gallery. Set up a table and serve sparkling cider.

[Mesty Espiara]

great idea! i'll keep this in mind.

[Mesty Espiara]

this all sounds good. only thing is, i'm an artist an i know a lot of artists so we were going to do all the art ourselves, if possible. i'm thinking that anything will look museum-worthy if we frame it!

how does that sound?

also, another idea i have is to have the people putting up the art act like graffiti writers. for example, they should wear black, look around a lot like they're trying to be sneaky, maybe even have a couple cans spray paint or something.

[asterisk basilisk]

Can you explain the significance of dressing like stereotypical grafitti artists? What is the artistic statement?

[Mesty Espiara]

i was thinking this would be interesting because it would combine the expensive, fancy museum culture and the illegal street graffiti culture. it seems that people generally reject graffiti and i'm interested in the controversy surrounding what constitutes "art" and whether graffiti counts as "art". i want anyone who sees this to think about the relationship between museums and walls as different places to display art on.

does that make any sense? i'm having trouble explaining myself.

[Momo]

if you do that. I'm definitely all for it

[Fiorella Garcia]

i'm totally in

[hoboambo]

I'd be willing to play "Tour Guide". I'm pretty good at BS'ing ;) Let me know when you get more details...

[Mesty Espiara]

cool. i will.