Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Squirrel Installation for Loveland



I recently completed two art pieces to be installed in Loveland, the micro real estate project in Detroit founded by Jerry Paffendorf. Last year I purchased two 50 square inch plots of land in Loveland for $1 per sq. inch, and, since that time, I have been considering how I could use them as outdoor art exhibition spaces.

Originally I had conceived to have 100 miniature metal squirrels fabricated. However, after months of tracking down someone to do the work, my negotiations did not pan out. As an artist, I often think about how it would be to "mass produce" my works, and I thought this would be a cool option to explore for Loveland. However, in every case where my imagination exceeds practicality, I am brought back to "what I do" rather than expanding into production-line art.

What I do is make simple pieces, be they performative or artistic, with the materials I have at hand. My aesthetic is highly concentrated around the DIY ethos, and it is in this sphere that I have realized my greatest successes. So with that in mind, I took my squirrel stencil (originally cut and used for public street art), I had some 10" pieces of steel cut, and I made signs to fit on my Loveland land.

The two pieces for Loveland are:

Our Squirrels Were Still There (in Loveland) 3 x 10" x 8" steel panel with automotive paint

and

Squirrel vs. Squirrel 3 x 10" x 8" steel panel with automotive paint


I am excited about the pieces being installed in Detroit, which inspired the use of steel and automotive paint as materials. While this will represent 10 squirrels in Loveland, it is a start towards the realization of 100 squirrels. Stay tuned for how I accomplish the other 90. For now, happy to have this up.

My squirrels have arrived in Detroit and will be installed in Loveland shortly.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Video: Squirrels for Loveland Detroit USA

Here is the video of me creating my squirrel installations for Loveland:




Check this out: New Detroit Ice-Potato rap video featuring the original squirrel bomb from a warehouse somewheres.



Jrug Rug & Detroit Ice Potato Frozen Squirrel Mix Tape (with Censorship Duck) from Jerry Paffendorf on Vimeo.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

100 Squirrels on 100 Square Inches in Loveland



I am very excited about my new project installation in Loveland the micro-ownership virtual/physical art initiative on a piece of land in Detroit. Over 500 people have "inchvested" in the project for $1 per square inch. For my part, I have secured 100 inches in the initial colony in Loveland, and I intend to populate my spaces (physical and the virtual) with my iconic black squirrel street art. How will I incorporate my modest squirrel into this melange of artistic expression? One word: Metal. I am working now at fabricating a whole slew of miniature squirrels to install at the Loveland site sometime this spring. So, my contribution to urban renewal in the auto belt amounts to cheap bouquets of brightly painted miniature metal squirrels. Follow that up with stickers, web content, augmented reality, virtual worlds, and a book on the project, and this starts to shape up as one of the most interesting inter-media pieces that I have created. Check back in this space for more updates as the project moves forward.