#iThinkOutsideMyBox: Season II

Slideshow by Sedef and Zesty Moments

If we considered the fall of 2012 our pilot year, and 2013 our first season we have now moved into Season II in 2014, right along with Madmen and the start of the baseball season. And what a start it has been. Thanks to Sedef of Zesty Moments for the slideshow above and nice review below.

"David Everitt-Carlson is a one man activity center/activist who provides anyone interested in participating with paints and a 3x3 cardboard square to create whatever they are inspired to do. His project, iThinkOutsideMyBox is a community engagement art activity that should be in museums! He has over 10,000 paintings that have been created by visitors since 2012.  It is such an phenomenal project that all I can say is 'You have to see it for yourself!'"

#iTOMB Gallery.Sedef. 04.26.14

And it's just this sort of reaction that can only come from those who see it. It's just not the same if I tell you about it. Sedef continues:

"There was one little girl, Pema, who lay on her stomach for half an hour, moving from one side of the exhibit to the other, trying to see it all at eye-level. My thought was - What a great dollhouse this would be... I think I will try to build one for my little niece as soon as she is a little bit older.  As I watched grown people sit on the ground and paint miniature works of art and Pema's fascination with what was on display, I was imagining something like this in MOMA or the Guggenheim.  After asking Pema which one was her favorite and establishing it was a painting of a star, I decided to paint her another star to take home. So, I sat on the ground and painted a yellow star for a 20 month old girl who definitely has an eye and a heart for art. It was the perfect way to end a day dedicated to experiencing art slowly."

Now, if only MoMA or the Guggenheim could imagine this as well:) I continue to pursue our 501(c)3 application for non-profit status and to grow our conversations with both the Children's Museum of the Arts and the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Should any readers have contacts at MoMA, the Guggenheim, the Whitney or others, I'd appreciate the introductions.

But that's not exactly how Season II began. Over a month ago, on one of the first nice days of spring, our season actually began with a visit from the Park Enforcement Police and a summons issued for Unauthorized Vending and while this sort of harassment has become commonplace over the last year, the Captain let me know that he was under pressure from his superiors to "crack down" on more artists and performers and that was why I was being summonsed – not really because I was breaking any law.

This morning I appeared in court to dispute the charges and was issued the following statement by the presiding Judge:

"I find the Respondent is not a vendor within the meaning of 56 RCNY 1-05, since he does not sell, offer for sale, hire or lease or let anything and does not expressly provide services in exchange for any donation".

And with that, hopefully, we'll be off to a full 2nd season of art making, community engagement and growing this concept as fully as it will grow:) Thank you all.

What is 'new'?

Kendall Shaw, New Iberia, Acrylic on paper, 1972

This sketch called New Iberia was done by Kendall Shaw in 1972. So in some sense, it is old. But it was new to me as I viewed it in a gallery on Saturday. It precurses the work of Cajun Minimalism Mr. Shaw has developed over the years and how I came to have met him just a few months ago... (cont.)  

Critique: Paweł Althamer at the New Museum, New York

Over the last few weeks a number of people had alerted me to a show at the New Museum that features an attempt at public art by allowing the public to paint and add to an original composition by the artist. Foiled in attending last week by a blizzard I was able to see the show last night and was excited to tour the New Museum for the first time as well. But with all the organization, talent and funding at hand for this exhibition, it just helped me realize that what we all do at #iThinkOutsideMyBox with our own resources has a more than special place in the redefinition of public art.

Below is the bulk of a critique I sent to a friend who had encouraged me to see the show. Also included is a link to a New York Times article that doesn't fall far away from my thoughts on the same subject.

Public art at the New Museum by Paweł Althamer and the public

Well, the reviews are in and the Paweł Althamer show at the New Museum of Contemporary Art was packed and that was just part of the problem. 

It was "pay as you wish" night and cheap hipsters from all around crowded the sidewalk outside and complained to staff inside that they really were somebody and should have better coat check access or a free coffee or "what can my press credentials get me?" Worse than obnoxious tourists. And the staff wasn't much better. Acting very precious at being docents at an arguably 'trendy' museum they were more stuffy than anyone at the Met, MoMA and Guggenheim combined. 

The museum itself is a horribly designed block-like structure with a viewer circulation system not unlike the Whitney with just one huge elevator and an adjoining tiny one to take passengers up and down the seven double-story structure and one barely-fire-code-wide back staircase that has trouble letting two people pass each other going up or down – so just getting to the top floor of the Althamer show is an ordeal. 

Once there, one is confronted by a large room with a paper painted teepee in the center and gobs of hip people's graffiti on the walls (which makes it decidedly unhip) – with no articulation at all of what should be left alone or painted over so on my night, a few weeks into the show, what was on the walls, painted by everybody, was largely just sludge – unaided by bland colors and truly clumsy brushes and rollers in pans – like they went to the 99 cent store and bought the stuff. Viewing photos of the room on the web, it was obvious that once there was some assemblance of order and actual art to it, but with all the white space having been taken up possibly weeks ago, people are forced to just roll over it and paint their own smiley face or similarly inspired inscription. There is little peace, insight or thought to either the individual scrawls or the entire room at large. You might as well just give everyone a hazmat suit and let them slide around the latex in it. One would get the same effect. 

The final two rooms of his show offer some interesting themes and pieces, but not the quiet or contemplative atmosphere one might need to properly digest them. "Free" night at this museum is just like opening the place to the same crowd as might inhabit a soccer match – complete with painted faces and boorish behavior. 

In general I thought the museum "tried too hard" to be edgy and contemporary – so much so that when you pack a place full of non-sequiters, mixed metaphors and mediums, it just ends up meaning nothing. The only way any piece of art could stand out would be just by being more weird or more shocking than the last – and barring live alternative sex shows or cadavers masquerading as some great insight to life only leaves the option of trying too hard and never quite getting there in terms of any actual emotion. 

So I was, maybe predictably, non-plussed. I found the museum and show as a whole over-reaching and underwhelming. 

Holland Cotter for the New York Times: "Is this sort of making-art-in-a-museum a new idea? No. Been done, and done, and I basically found the idea lame. Are the results “good” art? The question doesn’t mean much, since the method of production — multiauthored and overlaid — renders traditional criteria of values irrelevant. And anyway, with the possibility of periodic whitewashings during the run of the show, to provide fresh surfaces for new artists, whatever is there today is likely to be gone tomorrow."

I continue to move our non-profit 501(c)3 application through the paces and encourage your tax deductible donations through Fractured Atlas in the meantime. As the #iTOMB collection nears 10,000 it's imperative that we be able to access grant monies and serious support to take this Public Art concept to the next level - a complete public showing and painting that also becomes a collective social statement – much stronger and artistically relevant than the attempt above.

Thank You For Your Support

Moving Forward

Our first day of 2014 turned out to be Super Bowl Sunday and a perfectly fine day for painting at 48 degrees in the middle of an otherwise brutal New York winter. It felt good. It felt great. Somehow, the the painting grounds me. As many of you know, the last few years have been at least, challenging for me. But somehow the #iThinkOutsideMyBox project has remained as a growing and steady concern. A source of inspiration and strength of human spirit - yours and mine. Thank you all. For helping me grow what is now, the world's largest collection of publicly painted work at nearly 10,000 paintings. And a lightening rod for painters from all over the world.

But the project has now outgrown me in terms of man-hours vs income. Last year we sustained a blow from a parks department law that drastically cut our donations, while our collection continued to grow - so quickly that I have only been able to convert around 2000 of our nearly 10,000 images to the website. The paintings are safely stored and cataloged but I will need help to put them on the web - and in reality a new more stable, wider bandwidth website with more interactive and search capabilities.

So this winter, I'm taking a break. A break to finish our 501(c)3 application and begin to apply for arts and education grants. I'd also like your thoughts on our launching a Kickstarter campaign to help us launch our foundation. I believe the #iTOMB project to be unique in being a truly focused self expression vehicle that does not exist anywhere else. Only in New York.

Would you contribute financially to our growth? Or possibly become a board member with a voting and directional share? Let me know what level of involvement would be important to you. Please leave your comments below.

Otherwise, I'm expanding into other work. Click the DEC Communications tab above and see our full line of communications services from Socially Responsible marketing to staff training. I look forward to more painting this year, and growing beyond the High Line to museums and other applications, but I most look forward to seeing you, and thanking you for giving me a sense of purpose in the world of art as a means of self expression. Happy New Year：）

Last Call for Christmas

Thank you all for your contributions this holiday season. Our holiday total is listed on the thermometer to the left. As contributors of $100 or more receive a free print of their choosing, I wanted to review print options and do a last call before Christmas. With just short days remaining, we still have time to get it off to you before Christmas – and get it shipped!

 
 NYC

Take a look at the slideshows here. To order, simply choose your donation method, tax deductible (Fractured Atlas),  or standard (PayPal), then email me with your print title and mailing information. 

 
Monochromes

Gallery

Do keep in mind that we operate as a non-profit and all proceeds go to keeping the project going:)

Everyone Hearts NY a Little Differently

Anon family (Spain) 08.26.13

Everyone sees New York a little differently. Some from afar, some from deep down in the bowels of the beast and others from other places. But all from some point of awe or amazement or sometimes confusion. It's just that way. It's so New York. 

As usual, any contribution of $100 (add $10 for shipping and handling) entitles you to a signed, numbered print of your choosing on museum quality, acid-free paper from the New York Gallery below. 

To order, simply choose your donation method, tax deductible (Fractured Atlas),  or standard (PayPal), then email me with your print title and mailing information. 
 

Always know that your contributions help us through the cooler months and keep the community experience of #iThinkOutsideMyBox alive. Thank you.

Missed Black Friday? No Worries:)

Bryony  04.04.13

As you can see, there's still plenty of black art available on Cyber Monday – or yellow, blue or red – many shades of red actually. Today we feature #iThinkOutsideMyBox's Monochrome series (below). And these are some of my favourites. As usual, any contribution of $100 (add $10 for shipping and handling) entitles you to a signed, numbered print of your choosing on museum quality, acid-free paper. 

To order, simply choose your donation method, tax deductible (Fractured Atlas),  or standard (PayPal), then email me with your print title and mailing information. 



 Your contributions help keep #iThinkOutsideMyBox alive. Thank you.

A Week of Thanks and Giving

#iTOMB November 2013. Photo: Siddharth Choksi

In this week of thanks and giving we thank Mary and Karen and Kathleen for their kind donations and do encourage all to order an #iThinkOutsideMyBox print for the holidays. With cold weather here, your online support will see us through the winter.  Thank you all for giving. Also, please see our Press Release below and forward to interested parties you may know.

#iTOMB Press Kit 1.4 FInal: A Global Community Art Experience by David Everitt-Carlson

Contribute $100 - Choose Your Free Print

Romi 09.30.12

From now,  until forever, take a print of your choosing from our gallery series (below) for contributions to #iThinkOutsideMyBox of $100 or more - or choose any print from the site for contributions over $100 (please include $10 for shipping and handling).

Each print will come original size, 3"X3" on archival acid-free paper - hand trimmed to eliminate background textures - then shadow mounted and signed with artist notes and dates. Ready to frame.

To order, simply choose your donation method, tax deductible (Fractured Atlas),  or standard (PayPal), then email me with your print title and mailing information. Voi La! Your contributions are always greatly appreciated and we're happy to send a print to commemorate your help. Thank you all:)

#iTOMB: Love > $, but $ > *#^!

They say it is better to give than to receive, but anyone with their head screwed on reasonably straight might question that. Of course you'd rather get things. Good things. And on that front I feel proud of what the #iThinkOutsideMyBox project has been able to give emotionally - to New York, to America, to the world - and yes, to me personally so that we all get something out of the exercise - if maybe only, just a moment of peace

Thanks to Thiag (Brazil) 11.23.12

In the last year the #iThinkOutsideMyBox project has gone from a one-man activist vehicle to a global community art mandate supporting freedom of expression, an American First Amendment right, but more probably a worldwide human right. And our effort has not gone unnoticed. Recently we've been recognized by the Smithsonian's Cooper/Hewitt National Museum of Design, for socially responsible design, The National Gallery of Art, as photographic subject matter and Fractured Atlas for artistic and social merit. And as our profile has grown, so have our needs.

Skyrocketing from 500 individual paintings in the fall of 2012 to over 7000 today, we are inundated by public art and unable to process in a Bloombergian way. Translation? If we had Michael Bloomberg's money and artistic support that would be nice - but we don't. So we rely on your help, from paintbrush to wallet - to help support the world's largest collection of publicly painted art - made in NYC.

HOW TO DONATE



Fractured Atlas is our Fiscal Sponsor. They make your donation to #iThinkOutsideMyBox tax deductible. Example: Let's say you wanted to donate your old iPhone4 ($200) to us (which we really need)? You would receive a tax deduction of $200, and that could be a real number depending on your tax rate. (Email me if you can donate a phone) And monetary donations are deductible as well. Just click the Fractured Atlas logo above or on the left sidebar of the site and your $ contribution is tax deductible.

PayPal is the next best way to donate. It's not tax-deductible for you, but it's still good karma in our bank and appreciated the same as tax-dodger money:) PayPal donations help us buy paint, food and transport with our PayPal debit card so we see the benefits immediately, whereas, Fractured Atlas takes up to 90 days for us to see. Click above to donate through PayPal.

SO, HOW MUCH DO WE NEED? 

Free Fundraising Thermometer by:
Easy Fundraising Ideas

Short term, $1000. That will get us to the end of the year. And it's a number we need to see before launching a full KickStarter campaign. This number needs to be a ray of support that we can leverage to launch a push for year-long support from a larger community - the artistic grant community (We are currently applying to the National Endowment for the Arts, MacArthur, Soros, Guggenheim and other programmes). But currently, our expenses are now at a grand, aside from our operating income. They include, replacement iPhone ($200), computer upgrades ($300), Internet and phone access monthly ($100), storage ($60 monthly) Metro monthly ($125) and so on - so we need your help to fill these needs. 

THANK YOU

Please know that your donation goes to support a greater public need, the need for all people to freely express themselves in a public forum - something we didn't see until the response to the project became overwhelming. I thank you all deeply for your continuing support and hope to advance the #iThinkOutsideMyBox initiative in the years to come :)

DEC: Photo- Steve Rosen 09.13.13