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The ideaLooking to Spokane’s cultural index for this year, we can see that the city has a lot of potential to be a strong art producer. However, unlike large cities Spokane has a small population. Which means that in order for it to become an art staple, Spokane should smell culture in every street. Art has to be a relevant part of the city, or better yet the city has to be made of art. Art has to be infused with the costumes and culture of the residents.

To make it possible we, cannot simply ask people to start going to galleries, get interested in art, or change their mindset.

People have based themselves in a productive structure made of certainty, al-ways intent to have specific functions. The opposite art, which is dynamic.

We can’t simply ask them to make room in their safe and stable construction, and plunge into the uncertain reality of art, where nothing is what it seems to be. Maybe the best solution is not to ask them, but simply invade their social space. Reconstruct common sense without actually announcing what it is you are trying to do. However, this complex structure is prepared to react to any kind of movement that tries to change it. Psychologists call it a reactant, and to avoid this reaction there is a need to change people from the inside out, and not the other way around.

The idea is to break the walls between people and themselves, people and oth-er people, people and art, art and the streets. The solution that Art of Collision brings is a group of performances and public installations that surprise the daily life of the city, and intend to bring more attention to First Friday during June.

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insTallaTionsArt of Collision was started this spring quarter, in the Alternative Media class in Eastern Washington University. In this class, professor Tom Askman assigned a series of installations during the quarter, and required the final one to be out in public. We, the students, came up with the idea of setting these installations throughout the streets of Spokane and connect all of them by creating a path with a giant red string.

The idea had gotten bigger, and now we have a great opportunity to celebrate Spokane’s art scene and connect our installations together in both art galleries and restaurants.

Considering that some spots may be too far from one installation to the next, we plan on doing stands or booths with what we call “free market”. It is essentially tables with free material, to catch peoples attention that are passing by it.

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The CampaignTwo weeks prior to the First Friday of June, we will start advertising Art of Collision trough flyer’s, posters and Facebook. However, differently than most propaganda’s we will associate these actions with performances that reconstruct the meaning of advertisement. By giving an individual, and personal interaction between the public and the advertiser.

Propaganda’s are made to attract the biggest amount of people; as a result, most of them end up in something impersonal. When someone gives us a flyer on the street our relationship with this person is typically short or rushed, and we see our-selves completely separated from the information being given. Our performances will be focused on the individuality of the moments and actions, in hopes to make it special and meaningful.

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performanCesBoxes in Boxes The action of giving a flyer is not meaningful, mostly because the object that is being given has no kind of value (neither materially or emotionally) and also because the action is not focused on the receiver, but focused on simply giving that piece of paper to whoever appears.

In this performance the advertisers won’t say a single world. They walk inside the different places they have chosen carrying big boxes. They will set the box on the floor, then open it and take out another smaller box. And they just set the smaller box next to the big one. This action is repeated until they get a tiny box. From the tiny box they take out a small flyer that had been ripped and stapled back together. The performer stares at the paper for a second holding it with both hands, raises it up and shows affection to that paper. Afterwards, the performer chooses a person looks back at the paper “checking” if the person is “suitable” with the paper they had just retrieved. The performer then gives the paper to the person. If the person doesn’t accept it, the performer looks back at the paper with a confused expres-sion trying to see what the person’s problem is with the paper. Next, they look back to the person and try to give it to them again. If the person doesn’t accept again, the performer put it back in the boxes and goes away.

The idea is to make the situation memorable to the person, and hopefully get them to spread more information about the project to other people the know/come across. It may not be immediately effective in terms of attracting a huge number of people, but it will for sure be effective in terms of leaving an impression on people. A person that passes trough this experience will most likely remember it for a long time.

Destroy my posterThis performance intends to change the idea of hanging a poster on the wall and the poster used creates a different relationship between the poster and the wall it hangs on.

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The performer pretends to be a simple person hanging posters around town, but before hanging it he/she asks for a person on the street to punch the poster and make a hole in the middle of it. The performer will use the “excuse” that he has to hold the poster with two hands so he cannot destroy it by his self. The result is a poster that shows the wall as a graphic element in the composition and also uses three dimensions.

Under each poster we will put a book with information about the event.

i’m an art pieceThree days before the First Friday of June in the middle of sidewalks we will put pedestals. After a couple of minutes come two security guards and a man caring a big wood box in a card. He opens the box and takes a person out of it. They set the person on the pedestal. This person pretends to be a really “stuck up art piece” that keeps saying things as “I’m an art piece, don’t touch me”, “don’t even look at me, you will never understand me”. While the security guards keep advising people to not come close to the art peace. Next to them we’ll have a sign giving the information of the art peace and carrying booklets with information about the event. This performance will be repeated 4 times a day for three days.

D-Day for DemolitionIn the First Friday of June we will repeat the “I’m an art piece” performance, but that time in the place of the opening of the event. After a time a reader will declaim poetry about destroying this unassembled and untestable art. At the same time the art piece still saying the same thing and trying to call more attention. In the end the reader take a banana out of a box and hit the art piece’s head. The art piece dies and the reader announces that now all the public is free to walk outside galleries and see art in every moment, place and element of their lives.

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how Can you be parT of iTas a restaurant, Bar or fooD vanOne of the ideas is to add one special item in your menu that has a symbolical cost (for example: $0.00; $sing your favorite song out loud; $shout the sound of any animal). When clients make this order instead of receiving food they would get a piece of art to take home.

We can also think about special food orders that give to the client different experiences. An unusual example would be to give them hammers instead of forks, bricks instead of plates or something really simple as using the plates up-side-down. Our designers and artists are up to discuss and hear your thoughts in order to create an interesting experience for your clients and make this First Friday remarkable.

If your space has TVs or projectors or room for exhibits we can also use it for short movies, painting, posters, sculptures or installations.

Any of these ideas are more than suggestions. The only requirement to put your place in the circuit is to make something that stands out the everyday life of your store.

as a gallery or other spaceWe still need space for our opening, a band, or show. If you have any space that can receive a considerable amount of people please contact us. If you just have a gallery and think it would be a good idea to put it into the circuit it is also a possibility.

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as an artistIf you produce animation, short movies or other kind of art that you want to ex-hibit in public space Art of Collision can be an interesting opportunity.

If you are a performer you can participate in our campaigns or in the First Friday. You can contribute in making part of the performances we already planned to create new performances.

If you have a band or produce electronic music you can be part of our opening show.

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ConTaCTThis project stills completely open for new inputs. If you have any comment about it or want to make part of it, please send an email for collideitall@gmail.com or call Rafael on (509) 263-7750.