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This project started when I was inspired by an online course. The course “transforming your creative ideas into personal projects” was taught by Ji Lee. Ji is the creative Director of FaceBook & Instagram and his personal projects are well known (see his page https://pleaseenjoy.com)
As I watched each segment of the course, Ji covered different exercises he uses to flex his creative side. So, i learned that one of the most creative persons on the planet used a technique that I use often and I felt a huge sense of pride with his reinforcement of my inspiration. So, I thought of a project I could dig into during these trying times with objects laying around my house in Strathmore. The goal was to bring light to others in a time of darkness.
In June of 2019, along with a small team brought the #colorfulcanopysyr project to life at the previous Wildflowers Armory location. The temporary installation brought hundreds of people from the area to the small urban pocket alley next to the shop for photos and videos and more! It was named ‘best selfie 🤳 spot in CNY’ by local news. And since has been part of a larger project where cities all over the world participate.
I knew I had a pile of umbrellas left over from the canopy project, so I opened the closet up, grabbed them counted them up, organized & “de-handled” them.
I wanted to do something different with them instead of stringing them up, so I planted them like flowers. The project grew out of a need to create something that may add joy or a vibrant splash of color into otherwise plain or routine spaces.
The de-handled umbrellas stuck into the ground offer uninterrupted panoramic views of the Mighty Salt City.
So I used color theory to enhance the message behind the installation:
Red is a very emotionally intense color. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure & appetite.
Red represents COURAGE.
Pink is intuitive and insightful, showing tenderness and kindness with its empathy and sensitivity.
Pink represents HOPE.
Yellow is the most luminous of all the colors of the spectrum. It’s the color that captures our attention more than any other color. It’s the color of happiness, and optimism, of enlightenment and creativity, sunshine and spring. Yellow represents HAPPINESS.
Burgundy, named for the French region of wine-making, shows unconventional thinking, a desire for being unique and self expression. It can increase your energy, like red.
Burgundy represents COMFORT.
Then pointed them towards the hospitals on the hill as a reminder of:
Courage.
Hope.
Happiness.
Comfort.
I envisioned the project traveling to different areas, but also wanted to honor the current mandates. So I devised a plan to move the installations every 24hours in this first week:
Started at the Goat statue in Upper Onondaga Park > > > crest at Woodland Reservoir > > >
Onondaga Creekwalk in Franklin Square (section O) > > > Thorden Park Amphitheater >>> Willow Bay at Onondaga Lake Park >>> The 9 mile creek aqueduct at the Erie Canal >>> ???
Now i will adapt to have a new location every 48 hours to honor current voluntary shelter-in-place
I usually install under cloak & dagger quickly and efficiently, snag a few photos for documentation and then vacate. I utilize social media to post the location and add a twist that is related to the pandemic. Like for example, pointing the install towards the hospitals in upper Onondaga or creating a 6foot gap between umbrellas in Franklin square to signify proper social distancing. I feel as though the culture industries have been preparing its core consumers for our new shut-in life for some time however. So, screens are starred at more then ever. That is why I choose to post into neighborhood pages and try to reach wider audience ok local level. And families, cats on leashes, dancers, fitness gurus, dogs and more have visited the sites thus far. Every location is in a publicly coded spot or syracuse area park, so that those who visit can practice social distance and enjoy them.
I knew of Christo and Jeanne-Claude and learned about them in college. I remember being enamored and fascinated with their work. They promised that their art was only for immediate aesthetic impact. The purpose of their art, they contend, is simply to create works of art for joy and beauty and to create new ways of seeing familiar landscapes. It wasn’t until years later that through my projects i found a similar goal and became a bit of an installation artist myself.
This project started when I was inspired by an online course. The course “transforming your creative ideas into personal projects” was taught by Ji Lee. Ji is the creative Director of FaceBook & Instagram and his personal projects are well known (see his page https://pleaseenjoy.com)
As I watched each segment of the course, Ji covered different exercises he uses to flex his creative side. So, i learned that one of the most creative persons on the planet used a technique that I use often and I felt a huge sense of pride with his reinforcement of my inspiration. So, I thought of a project I could dig into during these trying times with objects laying around my house in Strathmore. The goal was to bring light to others in a time of darkness.
In June of 2019, along with a small team brought the #colorfulcanopysyr project to life at the previous Wildflowers Armory location. The temporary installation brought hundreds of people from the area to the small urban pocket alley next to the shop for photos and videos and more! It was named ‘best selfie 🤳 spot in CNY’ by local news. And since has been part of a larger project where cities all over the world participate.
I knew I had a pile of umbrellas left over from the canopy project, so I opened the closet up, grabbed them counted them up, organized & “de-handled” them.
I wanted to do something different with them instead of stringing them up, so I planted them like flowers. The project grew out of a need to create something that may add joy or a vibrant splash of color into otherwise plain or routine spaces.
The de-handled umbrellas stuck into the ground offer uninterrupted panoramic views of the Mighty Salt City.
So I used color theory to enhance the message behind the installation:
Red is a very emotionally intense color. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure & appetite.
Red represents COURAGE.
Pink is intuitive and insightful, showing tenderness and kindness with its empathy and sensitivity.
Pink represents HOPE.
Yellow is the most luminous of all the colors of the spectrum. It’s the color that captures our attention more than any other color. It’s the color of happiness, and optimism, of enlightenment and creativity, sunshine and spring. Yellow represents HAPPINESS.
Burgundy, named for the French region of wine-making, shows unconventional thinking, a desire for being unique and self expression. It can increase your energy, like red.
Burgundy represents COMFORT.
Then pointed them towards the hospitals on the hill as a reminder of:
Courage.
Hope.
Happiness.
Comfort.