an amazing year

I've been meaning to post this comic since I first saw it in March. It's been hanging on my studio wall and had started to yellow, so I decided enough was enough and finally took a photo of it. Then I realized that just going to the artist's blog would provide a better image (link below image)

It was in Riverfront Times just around the time when I was getting a decent amount of responses to my year project. How relevant! 

http://leonbeyondfacts.blogspot.com/

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

a year: as loop

These following submissions astounded me.

First, because this is how I view a year, which was the root inspiration for this project.
Second, because none of the participants needed any further explanation other than my written directions. The first one pictured below was sent back by mail. It is by one of my brothers. Neither of us were ever taught to "see" this way, and we had never discussed this before, but (unlike our other two siblings) this is how we spatially see a year:

...even down to seeing more months crammed into the summer's end of the ellipse than in the winter's.

He included notes:
"- ellipse rotates depending on time of year
- when thinking in Japanese the months become numbers"

He describes himself as:
"mature, caring, Japan, dance, strength, unique"



The following person read the instructions, instantly drew this (below) and handed it back. What makes some of us see a year as a track with distinct points on it for each place in time?

This submission (above) was the vision of someone who is a:
"Writer, Los Angeles, Art collector"



The beautifully-drawn spiral below came all the way from New Zealand:

The artist describes herself:

"resourceful, friend, free, visionary, dancer, Kiwi, worshipper, mid life, listener, sweet sadness"

a year: as road / line

Another theme is a road or path. Some see the months as a jumble of roads that form a year, others as a straight path leading into the horizon or traversing a space.


The submission below is a beautiful example of a simple yet perfectly explanatory drawing.
It came with a written explanation:

 

She describes herself as:

• Female
• 36
• white
• raised in America
• non-practicing poet
• professional procrastinator

This next submission...

...was the vision of someone who is self-described as:

• meticulous
• tenacious
• dedicated
• introverted
• snarky

The next one seems to take the view of standing in the present, looking forward to the year stretching out ahead in the distance:

She is: "giver, taker, lover, maker, hugger, kisser, fixer-upper, blender, mixer, cooker, eater, liar, cheater, biker, typer, writer, thinker, laugher, cryer, grumbler, winker, judger, fighter, make-righter, dancer, screamer, seeker, dreamer"

This submission (below) was the vision of someone...

...who is self-described as a:

• Fat
• Funny
• Intense
• Artist
• Obnoxious
• Husband

And of course, every artist's mother must participate in their daughter's projects. My mom was straight to the point:

She describes herself as a:

• Consultant
• Democrat
• Separated
• Czech/Finnish Ancestry
• Renewable Energy
• Christian
• Love to travel
• Love my children

This (above) was the vision of someone who defines himself as:

• Logical
• Selfless
• Supportive
• Strong
• Mature
• Not an Artist

Above, describes himself as:

• bold
• shy 
• loud
• observant
• quick
• creative
• orderly
• agile
• loving
• imperfect
• studious
• understanding
• misunderstood

This next submission shows the months flowing downward. She wrote:

• Retired teacher
• Quilter
• Bridge Player
• Unitic
• the Sun; a breeze
• Traveler
• Widow
• Black American
• Clock
• Democrat

This next submission seems to show a year as a road emerging from a hazy cloud.
It was the vision of someone who is:

• Timeless 
• Grateful 
• Seeker 
• Light  
• Beautiful 
• Blessed

a year: as circle

Participants were asked to draw how they see the idea of "a year". 

So far, 21 participants have sent their cards back.  Most people so far have treated the theme in a more  metaphorical way than I was attempting to elicit.  It has been a challenge to explain this idea through words. The problem was partially with my original directions, so now I have begun to clarify that I am interested in how each person spatially lays out that span of time in their mind. I have noticed that explaining it verbally seems to be more effective.

One interesting surprise has been that some people claim that they do not actually "see" a year or any span of time at all. As for the more symbolic/metaphorical responses, I am still trying to decide if/how they will be used for the project.

For the participants who have displayed a spatial representation, a few themes are already evident, such as the circle:

Each person was asked to describe themselves.
This submission (above) was the vision of someone who is:
"Open, Liberal, Fun, Atheist, Logical, Controlling (sometimes!)"

This submission (above) was the vision of a:
"Fashion Designer, female, easy-going, optimistic, hardworking" person.