Katherine Campbell and Professor Joseph Ostraff, Visual Arts
The purpose of the research was to determine whether or not the exposure of “highbrow” art placed in “lowbrow” venues would result in an increase of awareness to all exposed. The society was to be exposed to art in a reputable venue, a “highbrow” art gallery in Scottsdale AZ. The society then was to be exposed to the art in “lowbrow” venues in the form of kitsch, for example, the art was to be printed on t-shirts, magnets, and baby quilts, these were then to be distributed throughout the community. I had desired to know whether or not those who had been exposed to the art in the gallery, would upon seeing someone with a t-shirt of the art, become more aware of that person and so forth.
The project concluded as follows. A group of 17 other students and I committed to the project. Thus, there were 18 works of art presented in the gallery. Each student was assigned by either Susan Krueger (a leader of the project who also received a grant) or myself to fulfill a task necessary to the completion of the project. Each student agreed to comply and thus we began our work of making our own piece, setting up space with the gallery in Scottsdale, making the slides of all the work, purchasing t-shirts, materials for quilts and magnets, transferring the images to the materials and then assembling them, arranging a place to stay, and transportation to and in AZ, and finalizing the schedule and plans for the trip.
One problem that Susan and I especially felt was the lack of help from the other students. We found that many agreed in the beginning, not realizing the great task that was at hand, assuming that it was a free trip to show their art in AZ. Thus the great responsibility fell upon us, and a few supporting students to do all the work. Something that I definitely learned from this was that in the future, in the business of art and anything else it will be important to choose very carefully those who I know will work hard in the collaboration. I believe that had the group worked hard, the results would have been very different.
We made it to Scottsdale in mid-March. Having completed the artwork, and sent it to the gallery, we set off with our t-shirts, magnets, and quilts for Arizona. While there we enjoyed the hospitality of a relative’s home. It was close to the gallery and without cost to anyone in the group. The group traveled via rental van. The first few days were spent attending the opening, selling t-shirts, giving away magnets, and talking about the purpose and reason in art, especially art as students. The business of the day was at times frustrating as there were students who wanted to present the project in a different light than was agreed. Because of the conflict that arose in our discussions, we rarely had the opportunity to go out into public and speak to people and witness whether or not they gained an increased awareness.
Thus the success of the project changed coarse. It was not, as I had hypothesized a chance to see how society functions, and becomes aware as a whole, but to see how a small group of people functions and works together. The project on a whole was successful I believe because it taught me life skills, and the awareness of what it means to organize and follow through with a large collaboration. I gained a stronger relationship with those whom I worked with. All benefited by the experience of showing our art, and selling our art in a reputable venue. In addition to that, we were able to take the quilts to a child abuse center, which later informed me that the children loved the quilts and benefited from them greatly.
There are many good things that happened because of this project. The most important of them all I believe is the desire that was instilled in all to be a part of the community, to share our art, and help make aware those around us. We are planning a return trip to AZ and one to Minnesota to exhibit our art and continue in our endeavors in collaboration and the exposure of art. This time, however our project has been turned into a class, thus everyone must participate.
The money from the ORCA grant was used to fund the transportation of the students to Arizona. The students themselves paid for all other costs.