ArtPrize 2009: Mind the Gap

I was a co-founder of a student design collaborative called Not Design at the tail-end of college. This was one of our first projects for Grand Rapids’ first ArtPrize competition. I believe Not Design is still alive and well today.

Words "Inaction is an action" projected with light onto the side of a building at night
Words "You have a responsibility" projected with light onto the side of a bridge at night
Words "Truth cannot be painted" projected with light onto the side of an old church at night
Words "Limited sight" projected with light onto the underside of a bridge at night
Words "Those who won't be counseled can't be helped" projected with light onto the side of a building at night
Words "Mind the gap" projected with light near the intersection of Wealth and Division streets
WALL+WEAPON.jpg

Analog Methods

Not Design often used analog methods to spark thought and dialog about current topics. For this project, we used an old school projector to project thought-invoking phrases onto the sides of public buildings in Grand Rapids. I took the photos documenting our guerrilla typography.

Old school light projector

ArtPrize Installation

To formally submit our guerrilla typography for ArtPrize, we created an installation including prints of my photography, as well as an interactive component for the public.

Print of light projections displayed at exhibit

Community Dialog

Our installation was visited by over 1200 people, with many willing to engage in the interactive portion of our project and give their own opinions.

People from all walks of live were given the opportunity to observe, respond, and interact with the content in their own way. We observed parents explaining to their children the meaning of our images, people who rarely if ever observe art discussing and interpreting it. The interactive room was overwhelmed with participants creating their own statements.

Exhibit attendee interacting with light projection
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