Work by Project: Stroll

Description:
Simply put, Stroll is a large-scale collaborative art project designed to consider and make explicit the multiple ways of experiencing a single "ordinary" human activity, a recreational stroll. The stroll in this instance is after the model of the 19th century post-Hausmanization Parisian flaneur, a leisurely outing purely for recreational purposes—although the purposes of the average flaneur may not have been so straightforward. (I'll soon have online a paper on the historical and deep theoretical underpinnings of this project for those of you who are interested in such things.) Please note: Second Life strolls are welcome too! I would love to have some of my friends "in-world" participate; plans at present are for exhbition to take place both in RL and SL.

Criteria:
To participate in Stroll, simply do the following:

1. Decide upon a stroll. Keep in mind the attitude of the Hausmann-era French flaneur: a stroll was pure recreation with a hint of consumerism in it, namely consumerism of the locale itself and the notion of consuming some "leisure time." Your stroll may be from anywhere to anywhere, but the one stipulation is that is must have no purpose other than the act of strolling itself. You cannot, for example, head out with the intention of walking to the library to return a book, nor walking to the farmer's market to pick up something for dinner, nor walking to the café for a cup of coffee. However, if you are out for a stroll and you happen upon a café or a farmer's market, to go in and observe/enjoy the sounds, sights and smells within the context of your stroll is fully within the scope of this project.



2. On Sunday, January 18, 2009, take your stroll! Stroll solo, or with someone special, or stroll with a stranger! Stroll far, or just around the block. Stroll in a place you know well, or a place you've never been before. Stroll in beautiful weather, or in the rain, or the snow; stroll in the daytime or in the dark!



3. Document and represent your stroll in any way you would like. You may draw sketches, write a narrative, make video, make photographs, collect found objects and construct something with them, design a book, write a song, list general impressions, make a map, scribble descriptive notes, list your observations, present emphemera, create a dance, or position your stroll itself as a conceptual artwork or performance piece—or anything else you can possibly think of. There are absolutely NO LIMITATIONS and NO EXPECTATIONS! It may be as arty or as plain-and-simple as you like.



4. Contact me regarding your results. We'll discuss how best to deliver and present the documentation you have created. In "real life," emarie@lineofsight.net, for Second Life submissions and questions, IM Asimia Heron inworld or email asimia.heron@gmail.com



5. Make sure to take your stroll and contact me ASAP: cutoff date for submissions is FEBRUARY 15, 2009.

What Next?
Work suited for exhibition will be curated into a show that will take place no later than November 2009, complete with opening reception and announcement cards; all artists will be invited to participate in any public events associated with the exhibition (opening reception, panel discussion/artist talks, closing reception, etc.), although travel and accomodations to the event site sadly must be at the artist's expense. A parallel Second Life exhibition and associated "public events" are also planned, in order to open up participation to artists who cannot afford to travel, as well as to expand the reach of the exhibition beyond any immediate geographic area. Prior to the exhibition, an online exhibit and catalog, including representation of all submitted work will be published associated with the Art-in-Progress web site. A printed catalog might also result, if funding can be found!

Please note that the live exhibition may not include all submitted works due to physical space limitations or other technical constraints.