Friday, June 26, 2009

First Show at Emerson Space Case: "I Wish I Could"



With great excitement in our hearts, we present the first art show at Emerson Space Case, "I Wish I Could," which is a collaborative show between Stephanie Brachmann (that's me) and Ilan Schraer.

Here's the big idea.  We asked a bunch of friends, strangers, and acquaintances to anonymously finish the sentence, "I wish I could..." and drop their responses in this box:

 

After that, Ilan and I carved six linocut blocks of images of human hands, which would be rearranged to be printed in different ways.  Upon each print is written a wish from our box of wishes.  I completed most of the lino printing, and Ilan painstakingly performed the gorgeous cursive handwriting.  We decided on the motif of hands because they represent reaching, touching, doing.

And amidst all of this:  in the moments leading up to the installation of this show yesterday, we found out that Michael Jackson had just died!  So I like to think that somehow this show has something to do with him, as he was alive when we began, and had passed on by the time we were finished.

I really enjoy creating art that involves a sort of interaction with other people, or at least a reaction to people's real input, thoughts, and desires.  I hope I can create more art like this in the future.

Here are pictures of the show, which will be displayed until the end of July: