Over the weekend, Jordan and I came across a public art project I’d read about in the Post. Here’s how it works: local artist Linda Hesh sets up benches displaying the words “For” and “Against” (see Jordan sitting on the “Against” bench, above), and invites people to write down something they are “for” or “against,” then takes their photograph on the appropriate bench. You can browse a gallery of the photographs, and get a sense of the issues that matter most to your fellow Washingtonians – from doughnuts (for) to genocide (against) – on Hesh’s website, where she also posts a schedule of where the benches will appear. The project wraps up on election day.
More on public art:
…from the Creative DC archives:
- The “You Don’t Need It” project by the Anti-Advertising Agency
..from around the web:
- “The United States of Art,” a public art map
- The aptly titled “DC Creates Public Art” blog
- The aptly titled “Metro Arts” website (art on the Metro)
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I love Linda Hesh’s project. It reminds me of the Post Secret blog where people send postcards of their secrets in. Instead, people can now express themselves via pictures of themselves on these benches. And the thought of Jordan just being “against” in general is amusing.
I was about to ask what Jordan was against. But I see from the above, and am inclined to agree, it’s just a general “against”.
Ha! You can’t tell it from the photo, but Jordan was actually registering the fact that he was “against” factory farming. That’s a flaw in the project design, I think – people should be photographed holding up a sign that says what they’re for or against. (This info shows up on Hesh’s website, but not in the photos themselves…)
Thanks for posting on this. I love this idea and will seek it out! I am “for” benches! (And places to sit, in general.)
Yeah I’m not just generally “against” (well actually I am, but that’s not the point). Like Amanda said, I was against factory farming.