Does it 'move' you?

The idea of a moving exhibit came to mind after visiting the London Transport Museum. In a previous post, I mentioned just how overwhelming and stressful this visit was due to the large amount of children and the difficulty of being able to walk through the museum. After exiting the exhibitions, I made my way to the cafe - I then delved into my sketchbook with a panini and a glass of wine. It was a simple joy of not being surrounded by the smell of diapers and sounds of whining.

Sketches came about and it became clear what I wanted to do: allow my posters and imagery to be moveable, like that on a train track - moveable in a sense that the viewer is able to put my pieces together like a puzzle. I enjoy the fact that the control is in the hands of the viewer, the audience and not so much myself. I can and will set it up in a way where they are able to play with such imagery and find meanings amongst themselves.

Creating such imagery and 'puzzle pieces' is not so difficult. In my mind, I need to know how the physics will work: find a railing system first, then modify such pieces.

One trip to IKEA, I came across a shower curtain railing. This shower curtain railing is meant to be hung from the ceiling, but why wouldn't it work by being attached to a vertical wall?

After long hours of simply figuring out how to assemble said shower curtain:
(Why IKEA instructions have not gotten easier over time is beyond me...)

I assembled my shower curtain rail, now to attach a mock poster. I know the the images/posters used in my exhibit will be printed on a thick foam core, so fear of piercing through a simple foam board from the student store is not a worry at the moment: just make sure it sticks...and it moves from left to right.

It works. Kind of. Not really actually. Yes said poster board moves from left to right, but it squeaks and doesn't move smoothly. I assume this to be from the fact that the tracks are meant to be hanging from the ceiling and not from a vertical stand point. Without the board, the tracks are smooth - due to no weight. Of course the board is somewhat flimsy, something I figured could be fixed with a double railing:

But I doubt that would take the squeakiness out of the movement.

I tried, and it's not successful at this point.

New ideas: looking into railings found in drawers, railings found for large scale objects such as televisions, etc. I know there are rail systems intended to be attached to a vertical wall, now to just find such at a reasonable cost and are easily moveable. No squeaks please.

London Transport Museum - My Bliss

Today I went to the London Transport Museum and was widely impressed. I was overwhelmed, but impressed nonetheless. The biggest shock of my visit was when approaching the museum, there was an actual line to get in. The museum was quite crowded, extremely actually. There were many children and strollers - kids running around. At a few points, it was even difficult to navigate through exhibits from the overcrowding.

Though it was slightly aggravating, I did enjoy seeing the large interest in public transport. At first, I was confused about the overcrowding. It's not often you hear good words about public transport, so why would people take time out of their busy days to pay to visit a museum revolved around it? It was then I remembered: Oh yeah, little boys like trains. I had forgotten about the playfulness of trains and vehicles.


The first exhibit at the museum was the least crowded, people breezed through the World Cities Walk to get to the next exhibit: the old buses and trains. Victorian era displays. 

 

 

I still found the World Cities Walk to be quite interesting, it displayed maps and videos of people on public transport from all over the world.

Though I was interested in seeing actual old carriages, my main interest was that of original posters and artwork for the Tube and trains. There were many cases with pull out drawers to view original documents: posters, tickets, flyers, postcards, etc. To me this was the most fascinating part of the exhibit. Yes, it was enjoyable climbing in and out of old trains and buses - but I found my joy in the poster artwork.

Poster design by Theyre Lee-Elliott

By far, the busiest portions of the museum are the trains and buses. Parents and children alike are smiling and enjoying their interaction with such historical objects.

What I've taken away from this exhibit is the need for my degree show to be interactive, educational slightly, but interactive at most. Here people have found joy in the 'old' and 'historical' aspect of public transport. Similar to my work, the London Transport Museum has created a marriage between the old and the new. Historical and Modern. Encouraging and Educational.

Go big or go home right?

That's the American way. We're not used to doing things on a small term basis, for proof just take a look at our cars, bathrooms, and roads. Even our plates of food.

I have a large idea for my degree show, whether it will be possible or not is still up in the air. But if I shoot high, aim for a large idea, I can always cut back if it ends up being out of reach. Better than working from little and trying to add more ideas.

Bus shelters are disgusting. They are cold and uninviting. My goal is to take that idea and 'reinvent' it to something welcoming and loveable. This is directly tied to finding joy in public transport as well, make something that is old and dull and exhibit in a positive light. Finding joys in what would normally be ignored.

There are many examples of bus shelter art. Whether it's an aesthetically pleasing design:

http://www.behance.net/gallery/City-of-Moscow-Bus-Shelter-Design/3072493

Or whether it's designs that are a bit more playful:

 http://www.behance.net/gallery/University-of-Idaho-bus-shelter/392761


IKEA has also dived into the creative bus shelter world for advertising purposes:

It's a large idea: getting a hold of a bus shelter, perhaps one that is not so used and grotesque, and incorporating my artwork in and around the bus. Clearly, it would be too simple to just attach my posters to the windowed sections - but it's a simple mock up.

I do know that I want my exhibit to be interactive, I don't want it to simply be a display of work that people walk by and only look at. My subject is to encourage interaction on public transport, so why would I create an exhibit that doesn't possess the same quality?

Create interaction, peace, joy, smiles, enlightenment.