Art From Letters Form Words On Shirts. Call for participation volunteers!

[Update: Project is live! Participants still needed! wordsonshirtsproject.com]

SIGNUP FORM HAS BEEN MOVED HERE

New Public Participation Project

Hello! Just a quick note to announce my new interactive performance project with the working title Words On Shirts. I'm looking for people to participate in Atlanta, GA, or anywhere else. The basic project description is listed below (subject to change):

---

Art From Letters Form Words On Shirts.

1. I'm looking for volunteers in the Atlanta area or anywhere in the world for a new participatory performance project. I'm asking participants to wear a TShirt (preferably, I can paint a letter onto a shirt you already own. Doesn't matter what's already on it. See the images below.) with a single letter or punctuation mark on it for at least three weeks, likely longer (we look to be well on the way to getting the optimal 63 people, which means 63 days). The number of days depends on how many people volunteer (one day per person). You can wash the shirt, wear it over other shirts etc., but the letter needs to be visible for at least five hours per day. (The five hour minimum is to accommodate those with inflexible dress codes in their day jobs etc. If at all possible, the shirt should be worn during as many waking hours as possible.) If you can provide your own shirt, please say so in the comments section of the form below.
2. The letters form an initial sentence with a negative connotation or idea about art (the sentence is unknown to the participants). If you choose to participate, each day of the performance you will take a self portrait (or have someone snap a picture of you) with a camera (cell phone, digital, analog, disposable camera), showing yourself wearing the letter shirt. There is a Flickr Group at http://www.flickr.com/groups/wordsonshirts where participants can upload the daily images (or they can be emailed to me nathan@nathansharratt.com for those without Flickr accounts). 
3. At the end of the performance, each participant rearranges the letters (logistics to be determined) from one day to create a new sentence or phrase, thereby transcending the initial negative idea. However, participants are not limited in the content of their new message in any way. You may use all of the letters, or some of the letters, but you may not add letters outside those given. Additional details will be sent to participants once all slots are filled.

---

Join The Project

If you're interested in participating are are not already on the mailing list, please sign up below. If you are on the mailing list already, email me and I will delete your old entry so you can sign up with the form data.

Please also repost the following link on your walls and twitter feeds and your friends' walls and feeds if you think they might be interested in participating: http://nathansharratt.blogspot.com/2011/05/art-on-letters-in-words-on-shirts-need.html. I'm looking for at least 30-60 people (the initial sentence requires 63 people). The more people, the longer the sentence can be, and the greater the range of transformative possibilities. If more than the needed amount sign up, I can start a second project with a new sentence.

An example of how the letter can be painted over existing shirt designs.

Funding And Venues

This project is all about community, so I'm funding the project DIY through donations and a Kickstarter campaign (details to come, there will be perks!). I'm also looking for a venue to showcase the final exhibit. If you are in a position to help with either please contact me at nathan@nathansharratt.com.

Again, if you'd like to be kept informed about the process of this project or would like to volunteer to help with logistics or to participate, please sign up to the mailing list below or email me.

Thanks! Nathan

www.nathansharratt.com
nathansharratt.blogspot.com
www.wearebloodbrothers.com

[Please note, that signing up does not guarantee a place in the project, it places you on the interest list. Slots are limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Once all slots are filled there will be a waiting list. If there are any dropouts, those highest on the wait list will be notified and given the option to participate.]

SIGNUP FORM HAS BEEN MOVED HERE

Blood Brothers FAQ

I thought I'd answer a few frequently asked questions about the Blood Brothers performances.

Q: What's the deal with this whole thing?
A: I'm exploring the nature of constructed bonds, and how families are built.

Q: Why?
A: I want to answer this one with a "why not?" but I realize that's not terribly useful. I'm using my personal biographical history as a springboard to larger issues and themes.

Q: What biographical history?
A: When I was five, my father (who had raised me from before I could form lasting memories) and biological mother married, and my father wanted to adopt me. Massachusetts state law wouldn't allow a child to be adopted who had a legal guardian, so my mother had to give me up to the state. For about fifteen minutes or so while paperwork was being filled out and signed I was legally an orphan. I waited out in the hall. Then both parents adopted me. I received a new birth certificate, name and social security card. I had to become a new person for the law of society to legally recognize our pre-existant familial bonds. I challenge the conflict of nature versus nurture. Nature and nurture coexist.

Q: Why don't you use real blood?
A: This is probably the most asked question. The short answer is that it would destroy the work. Real blood signifies biological bonding, and I'm exploring constructed or non-genetic bonding. I'm building my own Family Tree. I break down the ingredients of fake blood (the "traditional" recipe of corn syrup, corn starch and food coloring) and assign each a familial role: Mother, Father, Maternal Ancestor, Paternal Ancestor, and water for purity.

Q: What happens to me if I participate in the bonding ritual? Will I be cut?
A: No cutting. You'll have to participate to know what really happens. The experience is different for each person. I'm just a reflecting mirror, you take out what you put in.

Q: What's with the tickets?
A: The tickets are dated and individually numbered. Your name is filled in on each half and once the bonding ritual is complete we each sign in duplicate with a bloody thumbprint. I get one half, and you get the other. You are now part of the Family, and are connected to all the other Brothers who have come before you. There will be perks in the future for ticket-holding Brothers.

Q: Can I participate more than once?
A: Absolutely. Each performance starts a new branch of the Family Tree and connects you to all those Brothers who bonded before you.

Q: Why blood brother, can't I be your blood sister?
A: Anyone male or female can participate in the bonding ritual. The performance and the Family is gender neutral, the title of Brother is not due to its historic memetic structure.

Q: How many performances are you going to do?
A: As many as are necessary. My short-term goal is to gain 1000 Brothers.

Q: Will you perform Blood Brothers at [insert space/gallery/art event/etc.]?
A: Probably. Please email me at nathan at nathansharratt dot com and we can discuss possibilities.

Q: What next?
A: Blood Brothers is an ongoing project. I've shared my story, the next step is for you to share yours. A website will be set up for Brothers to tell their story. Sign up to be notified when the site is live.

Q: What story?
A: Your story.
*

Did I miss anything? Please comment if you have any questions I haven't answered here, and I'll update the post.

An Artist's Life: Marina Abramovic's Manifesto

AN ARTIST’S CONDUCT OF HIS LIFE
An artist should not lie to himself or to others
An artist should not steal ideas from the other artist
An artist should not compromise for themselves or in regard to the art market
An artist should not kill another human being
An artist should not make themselves into an idol
An artist should not make themselves into an idol
An artist should not make themselves into an idol

AN ARTIST’S RELATION TO HIS LOVE LIFE
An artist should avoid falling in love with another artist
An artist should avoid falling in love with another artist
An artist should avoid falling in love with another artist

AN ARTIST’S RELATION TO EROTIC
An artist should develop an erotic point of view on the world
An artist should be erotic
An artist should be erotic
An artist should be erotic

AN ARTISTS RELATION TO SUFFERING
An artist should suffer
From the suffering comes the best work
Suffering brings transformation
Through the suffering an artist transcends [???] the spirit

AN ARTIST’S RELATION TO DEPRESSION
An artist should not be depressed
Depression is a disease and should be cured
Depression is not productive for an artist
Depression is not productive for an artist
Depression is not productive for an artist 

Group Show: Paint By Numbers, 3-11, Granite Room - Blood Brothers Performance

I will be performing Blood Brothers for the Paint By Numbers group show.

For Immediate Release

One night only, a group of sixteen emerging Atlanta artists exhibit new work in the exhibition Paint by Numbers: Systematic Structures and Images.

The exhibition coincides with Castleberry Hill’s March Art Stroll, and opens Friday, March 11, at 7:00 pm at the Granite Room. Paint By Numbers showcases printmaking, sculpture, photography, and performance-based works that explore visual representations of instructional and participatory systems. 

The childhood pastime of painting by numbers is an apt metaphor for the state and structure of modern society.  Paint By Numbers aims to reconnect us with ourselves and our environments by systematically deconstructing and reconstructing our world. Literal and metaphoric interpretations of the theme represent the diversified approaches and uniqueness of each individual artist represented.

Step 1: Transport yourself to Castleberry Hill.

Step 2: Locate the Granite Room on your Art Stroll map. 

Step 3: Enter the Granite Room.

Step 4: Explore the space and enjoy refreshments.

Step 5: View art and form opinions.

Step 5: Converse and discuss with artists and other patrons.

Artists featured include Johnnie B, Elizabeth Bailey Christenbury, Michelle Cornelison, Kelly Gilmore, Kathryn Hartmann, Sarah Howerter, Natalie Hudson, Joseph Karg, Connor Kirk, Mina Majest, Curtis James Miller, Kevin O’Kelley, Nathan Sharratt, Shannon Slane, Janie Stamm, Kelli Ulmer, and Christopher Wright.

For further information please contact Sarah Howerter by email at s.e.howerter@gmail.com or by phone at (912)660-4321.

The Granite Room

211 Peters Street

Atlanta, GA 30313

(404)221-0201

Friday, March 11, 2011 7:00 – 10:00pm

Be My Blood Brother - March 3, 2011 Performance

Be My Blood Brother, Performance (5 hours), 3-11-11, Atlanta, GA

Yesterday marked the inaugural performance of Be My Blood Brother (or Blood Brothers) at the ACA Sculpture Gallery in Atlanta, GA from 11am-4pm. I now have 25 more Brothers in my Family Tree.

The next performance will coincide with the March 11th Castleberry Hill Art Stroll at the Granite Room during the Paint By Numbers group show. Please, mark your calendar. I want to be your Brother. Each performance starts a new branch of the Family Tree. The more performances you attend, the more more you become connected to the new members of the Family.

My press release went something like this:

Nathan Sharratt’s latest public injunction, Blood Brothers, invites viewers to participate in the time-honored ritual of bonding by blood. Sharratt will present several ingredients for a traditional entertainment-centric blood analog, conspicuously combine them and apply the solution to a dull knife blade. The viewer and the artist will then commence with the ritual action of palm cutting and clasping, begging the question, is blood truly the strongest bond? Each brother will receive a certificate of brotherhood and be included into that performance's Family Tree.

Ingredients included Father, Mother, Ancestor (Paternal),
Ancestor (Maternal), and Purity

Ann Liv Young and pushing it

From blip.tv: On stage, Ann Liv Young has rolled around in her dog’s ashes, had sex with her co-stars, covered herself in blood, drank urine and attacked a PETA activist. Off stage, she has given the audience lap dances and ridiculed her own cast for fucking up during a performance.
As a graduate of the prestigious Hollins University dance program, as well as a former resident of the FUSED program in France and the Laban Centre in London, Ann Liv’s work has been presented at some of the most notable venues and festivals around America and Europe. Her shows, which she writes, performs, costume designs, stage designs and produces herself, are over-the-top performances that genre-bend elements of music video, porn, and fine art that really do go there.

*

I found this interview to be interesting and relatable. In it, she talks about blending the real and the unreal, and how she doesn't start out thinking about the best ways to make the audience the most uncomfortable  (though she does admit that it may be a subconscious influence). She also talks about having fun with people's low shock thresholds; once you realize how easy it is to shock people, a little mischievousness kicks in.

I have been holding back on executing some of my more explicit work while in school, mainly because (based on precedent) SCAD administration would likely either censor it or expel me. Rationally, my immediate priority is in getting that piece of paper. The ideas don't go away. Whether I execute a work now or a year from now doesn't dilute its validity for me. However, the thought that my own art school—that openly promotes innovation in all areas—would stifle creativity in its students is kind of sickening. While I don't regret transferring to SCAD—since anywhere you go you get out what you put in, and had I not moved to Atlanta from NYC I wouldn't have pursued fine art—I do feel I've been sold a lot of empty promises. The University For Creative Careers. Maybe they should think about changing it to The University For Commercial Careers. 

Wonton idealism is a wonderful thing, but I have grander plans than sticking it to a little southern art school. That being said, I've been itching to do just that. 

Marina Abramovic Talk at SCAD deFINE Art Series audio transcript

Marina Abramovic, The Artist Is Present, MoMA

Thursday was SCAD's keynote talk for its deFINE Art series of artist talks featuring performance artist Marina Abramovic, who pioneered the use of performance as a visual art form. A Google search will tell you more about her than I ever could.

The main purpose of this post is to share an audio recording I made of the talk. She thought lecturing on her past work to be boring, so she decided instead to give a two-hour lesson on performance art. She shared a curated selection of performance video clips structured by body part (head, hands, feet, torso, body drama, etc.) from a wide variety of artists including herself, along with her thoughts on each. Video recording was not allowed, so without the video clips much of the impact will be missed, but she mentions the title and artist's name for many of the clips, so independent research can fill in the visual gaps.

[Edit: ArtRelish has the full video available, embedded after the jump]