PUBLIC ART GRANT APPLICATION FORM
Title: Bradley Barn Project
Amount Requested: $2700
Dates of Project: Development: present to August 31, 2004. Production: September 1 to 27. Presentation: September 28 to October 12, 2004
Short Description of the Project:
This project aims to increase people's awareness of the importance of organic farming and preservation of a historical building,
both on a local and global level. It emphasizes the sacred atmosphere the selected barn possesses by creating and installing a
temporary work inside it. The process, which uses primitive elements like paper and flame and evokes a ritual, will be recorded
and uploaded daily on a weblog so that the work can be seen by people outside of the site's geographical area. Once the works is
installed, a reception will be held where visitors are encouraged to sign up to buy a piece of the work for $15 each, all of which
will go towards renovation of the barn. The installation will be presented for two weeks, and then the work will be dismantled
and pieces mailed to the donors.
Description of where it will be seen/heard:
A historic barn on an organic farm run by Ray Bradley in New Paltz, New York. The barn has been renovated by Bradley, but
last year's bad weather placed him in a financial struggle and he is not currently able to continue the renovation process. He
has also been unfairly pressured by a few neighbors who mistakenly believe that farms are unsanitary eye-sores and that they
decrease the value of the neighborhood. This type of misconception seems to echo beyond our community, and while people
are increasingly preferring organic vegetables in supermarkets, they do not approve of the farms being next door. My goal is to
provide them, and also supporters, a different angle to look at farms by creating an aesthetic interface.
Has permission been received to use this space?
Yes.
Predicted Audience:
Local residents and internet users. The barn is not exactly a place people stumble upon like a train station, therefore the audience
needs to be reached by mailing, announcements, flyers, and the internet. The production period - the creation of the work
on sight - will be treated like a performance piece which will be announced as such to encourage visitation, which, in turn, will
be a part of the documentation to be posted on the web, thus pushing the meaning of interactive by turning the audience into the
work itself. Interestingly, the unplanned encounter with the work will take place not in the physical realm but on the web. I have recently started a weblog which has proven to be a community that is responsive and supportive beyond my expectation. The audience cultivated through this venue will be able to follow the process of this project no matter where they are, perhaps more closely than those who can physically visit the site.
Relevance of the project today:
New Paltz is a hot bed for increasing property values and development sprawls at an alarming speed. Supporting farms, especially organic ones, helps preserve the open space, maintain ecology, and keep down property taxes. While this project is only a speck in the immense tide of the sprawl, it is resistance nevertheless. It addresses the aesthetics, history, ecology, and social problems of our region while using this opportunity to create a forum for discussion on a global scale on the Internet.
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