system: pyramid

april 2012

this photo of my work was found on the Lexington Art League's Facebook page:

a year: as turning pages

We've just reached a turning point in my year, as May just slid around the corner into June.

It's been awhile since I've received any new submissions for the year project, and I'm just now getting around to scanning in the rest.

I expected that some people would visualize the time space of a year in the form of turning pages of a calendar, but so far only received one such submission by mail:

The submitter describes himself as:

• Innovative
• Creative
• Kind
• Humorous
• Extroverted
• Writer
• Intelligent
• Flawed
• Stubborn
• Young

In case you haven't seen the other pages for this project yet, here are links:


a year: as road/line
a year: as loop
a year: as circle
a year: peaks and valleys
and all the lovely outtakes

a year: the outtakes

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.

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.

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. 

 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!

29, Designer, Partnered, Artist/Creator
Jared Zimmerman

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

on the back, he wrote:

Visual Map of 2011 by Shannon Badiee

(Many Life Changes)

• Single/Partnered
• Female
• Age 32
• Non-Religious
• Very liberal political leanings
• I like esoteric leanings
• ENFP
• Hobo Queen at heart
• New/Now-Age
• Civil Servant

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:

on the back, she wrote:

                 

                

D D B A

So faintly written that you can barely see it, came the word "hope" from New Zealand:

on the back, he wrote, "gotta try + hope!"

more optimism

male
citizen

he wrote:
son, N.O., Partyman, Brother

a year: peaks and valleys

Another theme that emerged seemed to be peaks and valleys.

For some, birthdays of loved ones play a significant role in how they view a year. I believe the following submission is one of these:

      

She describes herself as:

• Daughter
• Sister
• Steven's girlfriend
• Art writer Sometimes curator

This next one shows color changes as time passes, something I noticed in a few other submissions.

His description of himself was a work of art in itself, so I decided to scan that in too, rather than type it:

See more of his work at karledwards.com

The following also shows color changes for different parts of the year:

                                   

she wrote:

                                   -> seasons

                                   -> flow of time

                                   -> progression

                                   -> hour-glass

                                   Aisling:

                                   -> creative

                                   -> quiet

                                   -> thoughtful

                                   -> vegetarian

                                   -> neat freak