Carlsbad Art and Culture

A tradition? A ceremonial act? An attempt to rebel? How many times have you seen shoes hanging from wires in Carlsbad? If hanging shoes from a wire represents something, then what does it mean to hang ice skates? Maybe its a cunning observation of our Southern California weather. Who needs ice skates in our village? What if everyone in Carlsbad picked an item they felt no connection to, an item of no use, and arranged it in a public space and called it art. Marcel Duchamp chose readymade objects to display as masterpieces. The everyday objects that he found were used as an object to represent a set of ideas, to engage the mind rather than the eye. The conceptualization was that art can be found in everything and everywhere, as well as creating a new form of art that took the hand and the paintbrush from the artist. You don’t have to make something to consider it art. His basis for this thought was that an object is art not because you made it, but because you chose it.

Choose something in your cluttered closet or in your dusty garage and place it for all to see. Chose a location that is frequented by many. Location is important, but longevity is key. Sign your name, or an alias, as a stamp of authenticity. This object now represents you, your memories and a set of your ideas. Imagine if you were able to provoke a thought in a stranger’s mind through a once forgotten object. Imagine if your object was able to motivate someone to also place an object in a park, on a corner or hanging from wires. The ability to share ideas without speech and the written word is powerful and priceless.

Have you seen the skates? If so, where?

Choose something, sign it and place it for all to see. Snap a photo and send it to theartist@carlsbadcrawl.com. Everything that is submitted will be posted in a fallow up story.