As I wrote before, most people (so far) treated the theme in a more metaphorical way than I was attempting to elicit. One reason for some of these responses, I believe, was my timing. I sent many of these cards and directions out just after the new year, which perhaps suggested that I was looking for some kind of recounting of the year that had just ended. Many people mentioned their mood or big challenges or changes that 2011 had brought. Some were filled with new love and happiness. Others with dark clouds of sorrow and loss.
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She wrote:
Still unsure of my path. Within a year had dealt with too much heart break,
loss of many after an earthquake to my dear grandmother the link to my past.
Lost, unsure.
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In the directions for first few rounds of cards that were sent out, I failed to clarify that I am interested in a diagrammatic representation of how a year spatially lays itself out in thought.
How do you lay out the upcoming months?
How do you place yourself within a year at any given time in relation to the rest of the year?
Of course a line, a loop, a hill or a circle are all metaphors for a year as well, but what these drawings do is demonstrate how each person spatially lays out that span of time in their mind, which was the aim of this project.
A few people claimed that they do not actually "see" a year or any span of time at all, or that the image is not solid enough to document....that it sort of disappears the moment they try to capture it. Others told me that they are pretty sure they used to lay out a year a certain way, but it had become fuzzy after years of relying on digital calendars to plan out their days, months and years. I find all of this to be of interest.
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| response from: Editor, Brooklyn Resident, Single, DJ |
As for the more symbolic and recapitulatory responses, I decided to have this page as a place to give them a chance to be displayed as well. The nouns and adjectives each person used to describe themselves are captioned under their image.
Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to participate so far!
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| 29, Designer, Partnered, Artist/Creator Jared Zimmerman |
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she wrote: Cambridge, Boston, johannesburg, Den Haag, Portland, Paris, D.C., Warsaw, Berlin, Baltimore, Mechanicville, Maryland, Virginia, West Springfield see more of her cut paper work |
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| on the back, he wrote: |
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Visual Map of 2011 by Shannon Badiee
(Many Life Changes)
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The thoughtful submission below arrived in a beautifully lined envelope. The year, here, is seen symbolically, with the old year and self shedding to make room for the new:
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on the back, she wrote:
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| D D B A |
So faintly written that you can barely see it, came the word "hope" from New Zealand:
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| on the back, he wrote, "gotta try + hope!" |
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| more optimism |
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| male citizen |
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he wrote: son, N.O., Partyman, Brother |
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