In the Name of Art

Revised, Renewed Disintegration

This was originally called Bullet Boy when I made it months ago. Bullet Boy didn't work out so he became my candidate for Seth Aptor's DISINTEGRATION project and was hung out to see what the elements could do for him. During storms and wind he lost his dictionary pages that I later collected (in small crumpled pieces) on my tree lawn and remarkably, the rest of the work stayed intact if a bit faded and unglued. 

I tore apart the intact portion and reassembled it here with a few more pages of text glued on and the addition of some paint and stamps. I didn't use all the parts but used most of it. I like the ragged edges of this one better than I liked Bullet Boy. The moral of this story is rain, snow, wind and decay can only improve on the art. It worked on this one.

Look at the category "Disintegration Investigation"  to see the previous incarnations of this one (pre-disintegration and during the process).

Never Leave Well Enough Alone

So I can't. Leave well enough alone. I had to go out and attach 2 dictionary pages to Bullet Boy. One was the page with the definition of disintegrate and the other, decay. I also attached the 2 pieces of lace to the honey-suckle in the hopes it would help support it.

This project reminded me of something. A year ago, I was walking the dog near a construction site and noticed a full sheet of newspaper flat on the ground. It had been there for awhile and the March sun had coaxed tiny weeds and grasses to punch through the paper and grow up among the words. It was beautiful and instructive in a long term kind of way. 

Disintegration of the Precious

Some of my work becomes to labored and too precious, chalk it up to an upbringing that emphasized never giving up and trying "harder". When I read about Seth Apter's project to let the elements change and disintegrate a work of art I thought Bullet Boy here could probably benefit from the intervention of nature.

So out it went. I couldn't bind it to a tree as originally planned because the cabinet card embedded in the collage was too rigid so opted to just hang it from a wild honey-suckle. The too-pretty purple attachments weren't planned either, I was looking for something soft that wouldn't tear the corner punch-holes and there it was, laying around, and it was instantly nominated. I'm hoping it doesn't look to much like a display in Macy's. By May, when the project ends, it certainly won't.