Penny Harvest and #iThinkOutsideMyBox Celebrate the Run For Change

07 June, 2014 – #iThinkOutsideMyBox was pleased to join with Common Cents' Penny Harvest to celebrate 21 years of student service to the community with the Run For Change, a run and rally on the Hudson River. But as you can see, the #iThinkOutsideMyBox activity is much more suited to sitting than running so we were happy to camp at the Independence School, in the shadow of the World Trade Tower and welcome participants after the run for a leisurely painting session.

#iTOMB at the Penny Harvest - Run For Change. Photo Jim Saylor

The Common Cents Penny Harvest grew from one child’s desire to feed the homeless, and since 1991, children between the ages of four and 14 have been converting their natural compassion for others into action by collecting pennies and turning those pennies into grants for community organizations. That adds up to over $9.5 million in grants donated by children since 1991.
 

And as #iThinkOutsideMyBox encourages independence and freedom of expression for kids through positive communication, the Penny Harvest teaches them to take a first-hand proactive approach to community service by being part of the change they wish to see – well before they become adults.

Our thanks to Common Cents Program Director, Keith Hickman and Founder, Teddy Gross for seeing the synergies in our respective approaches and also to Jim Saylor for the lovely photographs – and of course to all our energetic student painters. It was a  wonderful day:)

For more information on #iThinkOutsideMyBox events, contact David here.

A blank Canvas

#iTOMB Blank Canvas 07.02.14 

There's something intimidating about the blank canvas but something liberating as well. A time to sharpen vision and point forward. My thanks to the friends who have helped in our reconstruction this week. We'll be in full operation for the Independence Day weekend. Above, the #iThinkOutsideMyBox gallery awaiting installations. Feel free to come by and paint:)

A new era – #iThinkOutsideMyBox gallery and studio stolen

#iTOMB Schoksi.com 11.25.13"

Today is both bitter and sweet. On Tuesday the entire art cart that carries the #iThinkOutsideMyBox gallery and studio was stolen from outside a restaurant I was in. Yes it was locked and chained to a pole but that din't seem to matter much. It was still taken.

And what did they get? The original historic box, all the art, the display and supplies – not to mention the custom designed cart that carried it all so efficiently for more than a year. Now it's time to rebuild and that's not going to be easy. I estimate around $500 to replace the baby stroller frame and gallery plus supplies plus work. The box and all my work will need to be repainted. Luckily, most of the work had been photographed, but not all of it. My apologies to the artists who's work was lost in this heist. New York. Art thieves. Go figure.

Happily, that same day, the nice folks at StrangeTogether.com, a website of fringe art and alternatives New Yorkness had a few kind words for #iThinkOutsideMyBox. See their feature at the links.

Otherwise, I will be extremely grateful for any donations to help rebuild the gallery and studio. Look in the lefthand sidebar for donation options.

Like us on Facebook as well. I plan to carry on and can only do so with your support. 14,000 paintings and counting can't be wrong. Thank you all.

iThinkOutsideMyBox.com

Photo: Eileen Lerner 06.07.14

"A Better World is Just Around the Corner" says the cornerstone of our gallery – or today maybe just more simple world. Now you can access our website by only using iThinkOutsideMyBox.com instead of .blogspot.com. It's the first step in owning our name by making it easier to be found all over the web. Besides, too many people can't spell b l o g s t o p.

Thanks to Eileen Lerner for the wonderful multiple exposures also. You can find her whole experiment here. And for you Facebook fanatics, don't forget that you can keep up with all our goings on by using Facebook.com/iThinkOutsideMyBox so be sure to "Like" us:)

Feel free to LIKE us on Facebook:)

Welcome to #iThinkOutsideMyBox on Facebook – a place for you to join in conversations with fellow painters and keep the engagement going. We're over 13,000 paintings now – all intimate conversations by the public in a public space – redefining the concept of public art, every day:)

"We all need to trust our imaginations more." – Tom Robbins 05.27.14

My feet. Photo: Lainey Dubinsky

Somewhere on YouTube my feet are dancing. The other day while setting up the studio and gallery I noticed a woman, an older woman, tracking me with her iPhone.

Having been making art in the public eye for over two years now, in some ways I'm oblivious to the cameras – but in other ways, always acutely aware. I'm a touch sensitive to 600mm lenses being leveled at my face without a request and doubly so when the photographer is trying to shoot someone else's children. And we're talking amateur photographers – not the pros who at least have some sense of protocol. These part-time paparazzi are always called out and asked to not to shoot children who are not theirs or my pores without asking. Even in public, a certain level of privacy is needed.

But this woman with the following iPhone was not being rude, just curious. And so I turned and asked her, "Are you shooting me?" 

"Your feet", she responded. "You have beautiful feet." 

And you know, this is just not the sort of things that most men spend any time thinking about. So I smiled the sheepish smile and did a little jig for her. Dare I say, I was flattered and my ego felt that for all the larger things I'd like to see some improvement in, at least my feet were up to par – to women well my senior at least:)

#iTOMB.Denise.05.27.14

And so the show goes on. Many are back who have painted before and many more still are finding us for the first time. This week the Children's Museum of the Arts in Tribeca will visit and we've also been asked by a group called Common Cents, the largest child philanthropy program in the United States, to help with an event next week – so things are growing, in a good way.

After a short stint on Tuesday and some threat of rain in the evening hours, I packed up the salon early to head for Barnes and Noble for a reading by Tom Robbins of his latest memoir, Tibetan Peach Pie – A true account of an imaginative life. 

Robbins has been a staple of my reading since his first novel in 1971, Another Roadside Attraction which brought the body of Jesus to a roadside stand in Washington state with an oddness of humor that seemed to be just the tonic for a terminally conservative world at the time. And Robbins has held nothing back since. He's 82 now and still funny as a whip.

The headline of this post, "We all need to trust our imaginations more" was thrown out, almost as an afterthought as he was leaving the stage – and related indirectly to a strain of Tibetan Buddhist thought called Crazy Wisdom – a process of spiritual discovery – to explore further and further without looking for an answer.

And I thought that maybe that was one of the things that we are all discovering with the #iThinkOutsideMyBox project. It's not just the paintings at all, but the roads we travel to make them.

Thanks Tom:)

#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：）