Engaging the Public in Public Art: The Magnetized Child

One of the things I never saw when designing the display for #iThinkOutsideMyBox was how attractive it would be to people who are about two or three feet tall:) In this video of stop-frame animation, a child is drawn in and back a number of times, as if magnetized by the colors and shapes he sees, as I am setting up.

Thanks to photographer Andrew Lepley for this cinematic interpretation. It's clever:)

The same location at 22nd St. on the High Line by Daniela (#Columbia) 08.19.14

The #iTOMB Gallery Second Anniversary

#iTOMB Tanya 08.01.14

As we near our second anniversary on 9 September, I am reminded again of our Gallery section - artworks that I believe, if enlarged to 10'X10', would fit in well with a great deal of the work shown in the Chelsea galleries. 

Remember, all our work is on 3"X3" squares of cardboard and created by non-juried visitors to the #iThinkOutsideMyBox salon - which I think makes them all the more amazing. Take a look at the slideshow below and tell me if you don't feel the same:)
 

Should you like a print of any of the works shown in their original size on archival paper, we are happy to provide for a donation of $100 plus shipping and handling. Just send me an email with the caption info and number of prints desired.

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.)