Thursday, November 10, 2011

Art, Cups, NYC




evagolightly, Statigram, 9.31 pm, 10/23/11

que_serasera, 14PC, 8.39 am, 9/24/1

I knew when I hung my cup art installation in the Flatiron Prow that a lot of people would see it, situated as it is on a major intersection at the very heart of New York City.  However, I hadn't really thought about how the current multi-tasking, hyper-connected, mobile public looks at art.

petra_mckenzie, Statigram, 11/11

Typical encounters with my cups go like this: Pedestrians are striding purposefully by, cuppa in hand, ear buds in, talking on their cell phones. They are brought to a halt in surprise by the hundreds of suspended cup drawings scintillating and turning in the windows of the Prow Artspace. They promptly get off their calls, take photos with their phones, apply some filters and load them to the internet right away.

Rula, Statigram, 10/11

A few keywords - #cups #flatiron #nyc- and the photos join a growing online archive on Statigram, Flickr, Tumblr, Tweetpics, Google+, Facebook and other photo blogs of the way each individual sees the installation.

They are consuming their art and making some of their own on the fly!

Selen, 14PC, 10/11

In an essay called Lessons from Social Media, Nick Martin writes:

"Here’s a description of the process Leech goes through with each cup and why:
“Leech saves cups from her drinks — and occasionally from other artists she meets for tea or coffee — washes, dries them and records on the bottom the date, place, occasion, and drink it held, thus documenting the social moment.”

Catch that last part? Each cup documents a “social moment”. Every single cup suspended so delicately in midair symbolizes a personal interaction, an exchange of stories or ideas, a connection with another human being. All of these social moments are then made into art, and displayed to hundreds of onlookers sparking new social moments, ideas, stories, and connections."

Danielle_B, Facebook, 11/7/1

It is exactly as he says! And just as each cup is different, each viewer's photos are unique, sparking their own text-based responses and conversations.

"I love how simple yet magnificent and intricate this is all at once!"
 chrysanthacakes, Statigram, 11.49 am, 10/21/11
 
Where will it all end up? Where will all this connectedness take us? I have no idea. I am excited by the possibilities. 

"Contemplating Modern Art in New York City",
chacoan, Statigram, 2.44 pm, 11/1/2011






































As I watch it all unfold, there are many cups of tea and coffee to drink and many more drawings to do between now and the beginning of 2012.

See you at the Flatiron. And don't forget to bring your camera - or at the very least, your cellphone.
 
cattie, 12.37 am, 10/31/11

rmar, Statigram, 5.58 pm, 11/4/2011
 
Matthew Huie, Flickr, 11/7/11


4 comments:

  1. Gwyneth: This is such an exciting post. The whole thing is so exciting. Who knew?

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  2. This project is amazing, truly interactive and inclusive! I loved the shared comments and love following this post! Nancy

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  3. Late Tuesday night, we were walking from dinner in Chelsea to our hotel near Gramercy Park, when we came upon the Flat Iron building and your cups. I took a few photos on my phone, but oh to have been carrying my camera! I love this! I wrote about it on my blog just now, with a link, of course. Yay! and Thanks!

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  4. Fantastic post Gwyneth - love the community spirit, all spiraling out of your cups!

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