Visiting the MET in New York City

Over spring break I went to New York City with my good friend and we visited the MET, along with many other museums and galleries. At the MET, there are many beautiful and inspirational paintings. We spent more than half the day walking around the museum. I found that I walked fairly quickly through the African Arts, Sculptures and Renaissance style paintings, but I took my time in the modern art section and the impressionism. While I was walking around the museum I was not really thinking of what art piece or pieces relate to this class, but after reflecting upon it, I instantly thought of the painting by Jasper Johns, White Flag (1955). I believe this painting somewhat corresponds with the culture-jamming project that we completed in class. The reason I thought of this was because America is run by predominately white people (men) and in painting the American Flag white, in a way represents the white rule. It totally changes the meaning of the American flag for me. It is supposed to symbolize equality and unity, but with it painted on only white… to me, it shows equality and unity only if you are white, not other ethnicity. There were many other paintings that made an impact on me, but this one definitely stood above the rest of them.

Improvable Monument: Community Seesaw

Concept:
I am going to make a giant Seesaw and place it in front of the Flower Conservatory in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. It will be made from non oxidizing metals so it does not rust or lose it’s coloring. It will be large enough for at least 10 people to fit on either side of the Seesaw in order for it to work. The reasoning for this is that I want something to bring the community together for no reason other than just pure recreation. This monument is for fun only. There will be only one handle on either side of the Seesaw, which will be located toward the center, meaning all the people on it will have to hold onto each other to make sure that the will not fall off.
There will be hands engraved in the body of the Seesaw, not only for decoration and design, but also not make the surface of the Seesaw less slippery. It will give the riders more of a grip when they are playing.
The reasoning for placing it in front of the Flower Conservatory in Golden Gate Park is because it is already a relaxing place where people go to enjoy a lovely day with their family and friends. And adding a sculpture that is purely based on the concept of fun, I believe will fit in perfectly with this environment. Also, there is a lot of space in front of the Conservatory that people picnic on, so there will be space for the monument and still space for people to enjoy their picnic on the grass.
Materials:
Stainless Steel Spring: (Spring for the Seesaw to move) Is a low allow, medium carbon steel or high carbon steel with a very high yield of strength. This allows objects made of spring steel to return to their original shape despite significant bending or twisting.
Platinum: (Body of the Seesaw and on either side of the spring and the handle bar) As a pure metal, platinum is silvery-while in appearance. It does not oxidize at any temperature. Platinum’s resistance to wear and tarnish is will suited for making fine jewelry. The meal has an excellent resistance to high temperatures and had stable electrical properties. Platinum is an extremely rare metal. Price of platinum, like other industrial commodities, is more volatile than that of gold. This year the estimated price will soar to 675 dollars per ounce.
Price:
Spring Steel:
Thickness: 1.0 inches’ (polished)
100 Ton: $600 (200,000 pounds)
1 Ton= 2,000 lbs
I will be only using 300lbs of steel, but unfortunately you have to buy at least 1 Ton. So there will be a lot left over to resell.
Platinum:
$675 per ounce
200lbs= 3,200oz
$675 x 3,200 = $2,160,000
Carving:
Would be no less than $3,000 due to the size and detail.
Welding:
Charged for total labor and material cost per pound of deposited welded metal. Cost would approximately be around $1,000.
Total Price:
Approximate cost of sculpture: $2,164,600 (not including moving and transportation)
Dimensions:
Platinum Body:
25 feet long
1.5 feet wide
2 inches thick
Stainless Steel Spring:
1 inch thick- multiple coils so it is sturdy enough to hold the Seesaw with weight of people.

Final Project: The Community See-Saw

I decided that I am going to go with my See-Saw idea. I liked the fact that it is not only a big object in a public space, but that it is actually functional and useful. Also, I like the concept of it needing a bunch of people joining together in order for it to work. Bringing the community together for recreational purposes only. I believe that there are so many things out there with the purpose to teach or to bring awareness to, which is fine and great, I just think that there should be things out there that propose nothing but fun. There is no deep thinking involved, all you need are other people to join in on the fun.
This will be made out of some type of metal. I don't know the exact type yet, but something that will not rust or pose a safety hazard... for this piece will be of all ages. Also, I would like the material to be sustainable, I do not want anything that would be hazardous to the environment over time. I need to do more research on what type of material would be the best to use.
The See-Saw will be large enough to fit at least 10 people on either side. There will only be one handle, which will be the seat closet to the middle of the See-Saw. I thought of this so that people would have to hug each other to make sure that they don't fall off, not them relying on a handle. I want this piece to bring unity within the community.
It will be placed in the Golden Gate Park of San Francisco. I am thinking right in front of the Conservatory of Flowers. There is a large grassy space there where people of all ages hang out. Also, there is already a friendly vibe there because of all the beautiful flowers and just the fact that it is not by busy road so it is quieter than other areas of the park.
The design is not going to be very creative. It will look like a normal See-Saw... just a lot larger. However, there will be etchings within the metal of the See-Saw. I am thinking hand prints of all sizes. I have not totally decided if I want it to be all one color (like silver or something) or if I want the hand prints to be different colors.
I still obviously have a lot more figuring out to do, but I have my basic idea and I am really happy with it.
My next step will be to figure out what the best material would be to use, how much this would cost, the dimensions and that color or colors the See-Saw will be. Then I will be creating it on Photoshop and virtually placing it in front of the Conservatory of Flowers at Golden Gate Park.

Final Project Ideas

Some ideas:
1.) A giant dollar bill on top of the San Francisco Mint. It would stretch across the whole top of the building. Most likely made out of copper so it would turn green over time. I am not really sure what the significance would be other than showing people that it is the mint and that is where our money is made. Just to bring awareness to what the building is.
2.) A giant See-Saw in the middle of Golden Gate Park. It would only work if you have at least 10 people on either side. It would be there to bring people together for for recreational fun, either strangers or friends. The material would be something very durable and sustainable.
3.) A giant treadmill in the center of the Pan Handle of Golden Gate Park. It would be placed where all the runners are to show that some people are running for fitness to stay looking a certain way rather than recreation and being in nature. I still need to work on the significance of the piece, but it would be along those lines. The material would be the same as a normal treadmill.
Obviously all my concepts work around something giant and in public space. When I imagine these monuments I visual them as being very gaudy and kind of an eye sore. Not so much for the See-Saw, but that would still have it's gaudiness.

Intervention at Dolores Park

Dolores Park in San Francisco is a wonderful park where local San Franciscans go to relax and enjoy the sun with the family and friends. But it was not always a happy hang out for youth to elders. At Dolores there were two Jewish Cemeteries here before they moved to San Mateo County in the late 1880's and early 1890's (Hills of Eternity and Home of Peace Cemeteries). They actually were the first to relocate south of The City, mainly because new land was impossible to find after the Gold Rush happened.
There was a totally different vibe when Dolores was a cemetery not only in that area, but within the entire city. We wanted to bring to attention to the people who love being at Dolores that it was not always the happy place it is now. We placed grave stones at the park to represent the bodies that were once buried there. Many people that we talked to had no idea that Dolores was a cemetery and they had different reactions. Some people did not care and said "Oh, I did not know that. Cool." While others wanted to learn more about the cemetery and the reason for its relocation.
We found this project very interesting because we were able to bring back into attention to the people that Dolores was a cemetery and not always the hang out that they have grown to love.

We were able to talk to a bunch of people carrying around our grave stone asking them if they know that Dolores Park was a cemetery and that it was relocated to San Mateo.
The grave stone reads... "R.I.P. In the 1880's Dolores Park was a Jewish cemetery. The cemetery was relocated to San Mateo after death was no longer allowed in San Francisco.

Making my Own Sign

I made a Caution sign warning people that there are Crying Children Ahead. I did this because there are so many signs telling people they have to stop doing things or be more safe because there are children in the area. I wanted to make this to warn people that there are children in the area, not for the safety of the children, but for their own safety. If someone has a headache, or hang over or they just really don't like kids, they know that they are coming into a kid zone, and they should approach with caution. I am planning on putting this sign up next to a day care or a play ground.
I used Illustrator to complete this project and I was difficult, but it was not as hard for me was the Culture Jamming project. I got a hang of Illustrator and I think that I will be able to do other projects with less frustration.
The pictures out side are the photos that I took of my sign if front of a kids school near my house. While I was taking the photos one of the teachers came out and asked me what I was doing. I explained to her that I am taking a picture of a sign that I made in front of the school and I would not be leaving the sign there. She asked to see it and when see got her hands on it, she did not like it and told me that she was going to throw it away and I could get in trouble for vandalism. I nicely told her that she can have that and I already got all the pictures I needed for my project. It was a very interesting conversation.

Culture Jamming

To the right is the original Ford logo and below is my edited version. For some reason a broken black border is surrounding my image. It does not show up on Illustrator, only on this blog. Unfortunately I could not get ride of it. I hope that it does not take away from my Culture Jamming piece.

I found the idea of this project to be very interesting. Taking a logo or symbol and changing it, so it is still recognizable, but totally changing the meaning. I took the Ford automobile logo and changed the letters around to read "Fuck!". I did this to show all of the problems that the Ford company is having with their cars. There have been many accidents due to a faulty gas pedal and some deaths have occurred. I believe that my piece shines a light on this issue with a some what comical sense.
To transform the original logo to my culture jamming one I used Adobe Illustrator. I have never used Illustrator before and I had a lot of difficulty navigating through the program. It was very frustrating for me, and all I wanted to do was to go back to Photoshop. After a little bit of kicking and screaming I was able to complete the project. I don't think I will use Illustrator as often as Photoshop or other programs, but I am really happy that I know how to work it a little bit better than before.