Shop Life
September 17, 2009
Mark Hancock making
(Just to confuse the reader, I wrote this last week! Sorry, took a long time to get round to posting it)
This is the third week in the Self Assembly Project Space and we’ve settled into a bit of a routine. I make the coffee, Mark buys the biscuits and we’ve got into the habit of sharing our plans and ideas for domination of the art world. It’s got to the stage now when we’re seriously thinking of renaming the project the Art Job Club.
The public seems to be a bit more used to us as well. The shop window has been a really effective way of attracting attention as we made an eye- catching domestic scene using Ikea products that had been slightly modified. We have had an article in the local paper (the Coventry Evening Telegraph) which explains about Self Assembly in Ikea and in the shop, so hopefully people will begin to understand what’s going on. It’s true, that few people have ventured in so far, despite our welcoming smiles. In all honesty, I didn’t really expect a big response as I guess it’s not clear to people what we’re doing, or why it’s relevant to them.
It’s been a subject of debate amongst the team as to how much the project should be about engaging with the public. I think it’s something most art projects in the public realm face; is it enough to be visible and accessible to the public, or should there be a more direct interaction between audience and artist?
