by Crimethinc. Workers' Collective
Available in 284 free installments
Owner:
At that point, we were quite far from the protest and the police?looking around the empty streets, I saw only a few figures, all of them other bourgeois pigs leaving the luncheon! Christ, I realized, this is where the action could have been, if only we'd prepared. Fuck the big guy, with his milHons of dollars of security?he only has power because these people pay so much to come to his luncheons, and here they are totally unprotected! If we had come in small groups with cameras and pies, we could have provided a persuasive deterrent to these folks showing up to future such events, and quite probably gotten away with it, too. I guess there's always next time?and yes, kids, if there's ever a noxious political fundraiser in your area, please do try this at home!
Pie Throwing 413
Portrait Exchange
Ingredients
Instructions
Foundation
Here's the short version: set yourself up in pubHc spaces drawing free portraits for pass-ersby, as a way to initiate interaction. Read on to learn about one agent's experiences inventing and testing this method.
a pad of paper to draw on
Pencils, pens, or other drawing tools
An eraser (optional)
Reciprocation device (in this example,
the "Grievance Board") a bicycle or other honorable means
of transportation Solid listening skills
A TABLE, PORTABLE EASEL, CHAIR, ETC.
(optional)
Drawing ability ? moderate to jaw-dropping; confidence may compensate for lack of skill
A reasonably OPEN MIND? a tendency to give people the benefit of the doubt
A TENDENCY TOWARD EXTROVERSION
4H
It was my growing frustration with drawing in an isolated studio that led me to pack up some supplies and do my first "Portrait Exchange" experiment in the middle of the city. I was learning a great deal in my studio, but I felt disconnected from others, from the city, from the very system I was attempting to understand, critique, and change. Besides, I wanted people who didn't like galleries to see my drawings?some of my drawings don't like galleries. I wanted people to own my work without paying for it. I wanted to involve others in the process of making art, a process I find so wonderful that I would recommend it to a stranger on the street.
In the middle of a workday, I biked up to a commercial block where I was a guest/ stranger and whose supporting community I knew little about. I set up my portable easel on the side of a sidewalk block and, once I got the nerve, began hawking my "free portraits" shamelessly. I had no idea whether I would be embraced or booted off the block. I had a hand-drawn sign that said, "Free Portraits, 3 Minutes or Less, No Gimmicks!" People were naturally confused. I could follow the progression of their conceptions of who 1 was very easily by reading their faces as I patiently explained the project and waited for their furrowed brows to relax. I found that emphasizing "free" and "three minutes" was helpful in getting my point across quickly The time constraint was necessary because most of the people passing me were going somewhere and 1 knew I couldn't expect to engage them without a time limit. Once they calmed dovm and were speaking with me and being dravra, the actual drawing could take much longer than three minutes. I never really timed them.
The energy was electric. Sharing three minutes of intimacy with a stranger is exciting, and the speed with which anonymity melts is breathtaking. All sorts of personalities were captivated by the prospect of walking away with a portrait, particularly a half decent one. Some people hung around to be cheerleaders, professing my skills to new pass-ersby Some people hung around to talk shit, to see if they could get under my skin, to see what I was made of All the while I was having the time of my life, busting my ass in an effort to do justice to each new curious face.
I had prepared a "Grievance Board" which I intended to use to collect people's grievances with the area or community that they lived in. This wasn't something that I wanted to push on people, so I went out of my way to explain that it was optional, but if they so desired they were more than welcome to add something to the Grievance Board. To my pleasant surprise people were all too eager to express themselves, to present both minor annoyances and major complaints. From the rotting produce at the local grocery
Portrait Exchange 415
