In a few days, I'm doing my third installation in the Public Spectacle Essay series. A few people have asked about the background and how it started, so I thought I'd post that story here:
In March of 2011, I was driving along I-80 out by the Great Salt Lake. I looked out my passenger window and saw written on a concrete barrier at a rest stop the words I MISS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU. The gigantic letters were scrawled in black spray paint. I turned around at the next exit, took a picture, and went on my way. But, I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Since it was graffiti, that section of the wall was either cleaned or replaced by the county. Several months later, when I passed the rest stop again, the words had been erased.
Later that fall, a letterpress printer named Amos Kennedy came to the University of Utah and did a printing workshop (you can watch a gorgeous documentary about him here). I hadn't worked very much with posters or wood type. I'd been working on really meticulous fine printing projects. The first day of the workshop, he said, "Today, we're just going to put ink on paper". I loved the freedom of working with wood type and gigantic pieces of paper.
After that workshop, I was obsessed with printing a conversation I'd had with a friend about writing "hail Mary" love letters. In January of 2012, at least 10 friends helped me print a 7 poster essay called “How to Write a Crazy Love Letter”. In the few weeks before Valentine's day I mailed or gave the poster set to 275 close friends, acquaintances, and strangers. They curated the exhibition over seven days, across the country, with hardly any advanced warning.
After that workshop, I was obsessed with printing a conversation I'd had with a friend about writing "hail Mary" love letters. In January of 2012, at least 10 friends helped me print a 7 poster essay called “How to Write a Crazy Love Letter”. In the few weeks before Valentine's day I mailed or gave the poster set to 275 close friends, acquaintances, and strangers. They curated the exhibition over seven days, across the country, with hardly any advanced warning.
After the first installation, I knew I would do two more. "Acceptable Reasons to Cry in Public" was curated and funded by Kickstarter users who became part of the public spectacle essay by contributing to the essay and then curating the posters nationally and internationally in November of 2012.
I decided earlier this year to do the final installation. I organized it again on Kickstarter. I think the sentence, "I Miss Everything About You" is a both a love letter and an essay of grief. I'm curious to see what will happen as the words are put into the public space on about 1400 pieces of paper. If you see one somewhere, let me know. Or, take a pic and hashtag it on social media #IMEAY2015
You can read about the printing process here.
You can read about the printing process here.
I am sure you will be interested in this: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/7/10/1779245/-Who-wrote-I-miss-everything-about-you-along-I-80-next-to-the-Great-Salt-Lake-Tell-us-your-story
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