Group Art project 2013
EIGHT OF HEARTS
Participating Artists:
Tal Alperstein / Michal Amram / Sahar Burnett / Kiril Cherikover / Tamar Drozd / Guy Eytan / Tine Fetz / Oree Holban / Michal Leser / Tamir Lichtenberg / Michal Makaresco / Carmel Michaeli / Lior Ophir / Maya Pasternak / Lior Shachar /
Shira Tabachnik / Shiri Tarko / Yael Vishinsky-Levy / Dania Weiner /
Yoav Weinfeld / Amir sinay-Weisglass
Eight of Hearts, an Art project presented at “Platform” Art & Design Fair
which took place in the summer of 2013 in Jaffa port, Israel
Following an invitation from the “Platform” team to curate at the fair, I initiate a project that I conceptualized while thinking about the fair as an idea. I wanted to work with artists I love and build the project based on commissioned artworks.
The invitation to each commission was in a form of a mission work/exercise /"homework assignment".
The project was a continuation of Fluxus artistic philosophy, that took shape in the 1960s and 1970s. The technical basic idea was easy-going, zero production cost and in a small format. A conceptual base was built around an object between a souvenir and a work of art. During a four weeks period, eight tasks were given, while each week featured two tasks. Participants did not have an obligation to participate in all tasks. Some only attended one or two, while some, in all of them. To each pair of tasks a file, titled Inspiration, was attached, detailing the task more deeply and included links, referents, and ideas.
Ace of Hearts
Supermarket- go to the supermarket near you and create a work of art only by using your hands, and a camera to document what you did.
2 of Hearts
Things-choose between seven and ten objects which are meaningful to you and take a picture of them around your home, in some form or the order you choose.
3 of Hearts
FIMO-prepare a sculpture using one package of polymer clay.
4 of Hearts
Wallet Work- prepare an artwork that will be small enough to fit in a wallet.
5 of Hearts
Post It-make a work of art out of a square of office paper.
6 of Hearts
create a work using a rubbing technique also known as “Frottage”.
7 of Hearts
make a T-shirt.
8 of Hearts
Postcard-create an alternative postcard to Jaffa port.
I named the project “Eight of Hearts” since my inspiration was a project called “learning to love you more”, an initiative from 2009, which now functions as an archive, that was based on assignments given to the artists.
Since there were eight tasks, the project is called eight of hearts, like a card game.
In addition, this quote found online regarding Eight of Hearts card “meaning” spoke to me:
“Traditionally the 8 of Hearts is a card of celebration and good tidings. The combination of the Suit of Hearts and the number 8 brings emotional balance, harmony and fair play. The 8 of Hearts is a card of pleasure and happy times. It indicates sharing good times with friends and family. It represents mutual love and respect, mutual faith and trust, and emotional fulfillment.”
I liked the idea of creating a space, one that allowed people to act alone but somehow also together. Each artist knew that they are creating within a group of artists and followed the same task as all the other artists. The project was managed through e-mails and a Facebook group.
I tried to create tasks that seem simple and offer nothing to do while maintaining vast creative freedom.
Another thing that mattered was that the scope of the work had to exceed beyond the artist’s studio. Art could be created when one goes shopping, arrange the house, sit in the kitchen or do boring office work, iron clothes, or go for a walk in the streets.