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workshops, SanFrancisco 07 2004, finalresult





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Shut up and listen final result

Find a short description about each project by clicking on the picture (there are three pictures for each project).







   picture 18 of 39

Piper Murakami - messages on One Dollar Bills

"Washington says: Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism. " "Washington says: Occupants of public offices love power and are prone to abuse it."

I collect money with messages hand written or stamped on them. Sometimes there are arty scribbles on money (was the previous "owner" inspired or bored?). My favorite piece in the small collection says "fake money" and is signed by Duane Michaels, the photographer.

So, here I am in the Underware Workshop getting an opportunity to do my thing on money. But, what message? Some of my thoughts and ideas:

The federal deficit (it goes up 1.68 billion dollars a day)
Don't vote for Bush (your vote has an impact on people globally)
Some wise quote about money ("When money speaks, the truth keeps silent")
Consumerism (not a sustainable endeavor)
Giving money to the poor (reality: it doesn't solve the bigger problem)


I settled on George Washington (1732-1799) after a discussion with one of the many participants in the workshop. I googled Washington and found plenty of great quotes. Many of them were too long to use as a money message: "I have always considered marriage as the most interesting event of one's life, the foundation of happiness or misery" or "The government of the United States is not, in any case, founded on the Christian religion."

The name of my font I created in the workshop is called George. It is based on the lower case of the caps on the dollar bill. After spending one whole day's worth of time happily sketching ideas for the font I realized that there was no way in heck that I could create all of the lower cases in a day. Out of desperation, I took the cheating option (it was better than dropping out). I found the font on the Web; traced my 18 letters I needed in Illustrator; tweaked, kerned, and created the font in FontLab and bingo. The self-ink stamper took half an hour to produce and cost $50 bucks, each. Yikes. At least I know I can get 50,000 impressions with one stamper.

So in spite of it all, I had a blast working on this project. It was worth all of the late nights. And I got an opportunity to say something.



22 comments so far: read comments , please do comment
giordano bruno -- Saturday, July 17 2004, 09:13 pm
i love this mystery story. i love this artist. i am a detective and will be happy to accept this case. i dreamt that i am your husband. i dreamt you were willing to listen. i love you . i am your husband and your detective. find me. all clues, no solutions. i will burn for you. i have a text.

Donna Haggett Donaldson -- Monday, July 19 2004, 09:09 pm
I think you have incredible talent -- pursue your dreams and they will come true!!!!

Gordo -- Monday, July 19 2004, 11:45 pm
Nice thought, nice conception, nice medium, nice implementation. There's only one answer: genius grant.

GRae -- Thursday, July 22 2004, 06:20 pm
I love it, it's beautiful. I'd just reverse it on the freeway in two rows so that cars cross the word plant first.

galileo galilei -- Friday, July 23 2004, 10:55 am
Maybe I oughta mention Was never my intention To harm you or your kin Are you so scared to look within The ghosts are crawling on our skin We may race and we may run We'll not undo what has been done Or change the moment when it's gone

hermes trismegistus -- Tuesday, August 10 2004, 03:04 am
... and nothing more than insubstantial ghosts be the final tally of your scaborous endeavour. that, and the pitiful residue of sour humours, a troubled heart and fading vision. what does the twilight teach you now old man?

John Dee -- Tuesday, August 10 2004, 12:46 pm
mr black to mr gray - i’ll have my man sir humphrey decorate his welcoming path with what is left of your grayness. borrowed interest. i am the third man. collector of texts. detector of impostors. a past song em[n]meshed for ever in the memory's net. probably you, who burgled my library. cease the reflected flattery. this is your 1638. your fall is a weak and tired stain.

Warren nnamuaB -- Saturday, October 2 2004, 10:02 pm
Flying from above this message will be seen clearly. I love this diea and feel that it will not go unseen. Peace.

karen o -- Monday, October 4 2004, 02:56 am
i so love the reminder that the simplicity of a message can often be its most powerful aspect. i once painted the road....it said "12 deer killed here" the words in succession down the road... to try and get people to slow down and think....and i never considered what i was doing 'art'...life is art. thanks for the reminder.....blessings....

Emily Enders -- Monday, October 4 2004, 04:43 am
The Shut up and Listen workshop absolutely intrigues me. I would love to be able to participate in such a wonderfully artistic feat. I especially enjoyed Katharina Broeckelmann's inhale/exhale inscriptions on leaves.

Sebastiane Powers -- Monday, October 4 2004, 05:34 am
My interpretation of this piece is a “redefinition” of the word “Wilderness”; stairs leading to nowhere, abandoned buildings, echos of human presence (graffiti, litter)- this is a type of wilderness to me. This piece gives me the impression that the artist is “labeling” the site- this IS wilderness, what you see through this chain link fence IS wilderness. It is a not-so-new kind of wilderness for a different generation of inhabitants of planet Earth. Reclaimed by non-human creatures- those stairs are leading to a wilderness space as much a hiking trail is. So many thoughts are provoked by this work- thank you!

Andrew Van Dyk -- Monday, October 4 2004, 07:42 am
- I thought that this was a very intersting way to expand your mind. Keep up the interesting work, I will definitly keep checking back!

Jesse Luidhardt -- Tuesday, October 5 2004, 04:07 am
About James Grieshaber's piece.- I love the idea of challenging people on the street to emerge from their own cocoon and to show even the slightest bit of personality. I often think about how most people I encounter on the street acts so secretive, usually as if I don't exist. Occasionally I am compelled to greet everyone I pass for a stretch of my walk. I applaud your piece and encourage further exploration.

Louise -- Monday, March 28 2005, 11:03 am
Katharina Broeckelmann - inhale, exhale: I like your idea. I don't want to come off as a rabid environmentalist, but wouldn't the type from the cut out leaves seem like a mass of mutilated plantlife? It just seems ironic to me. soliue@yahoo.com

JK -- Wednesday, June 29 2005, 05:08 pm
wilderness... very nice work, perfect relationship between form and idea. have a look at this... http://jknebusch.free.fr/09.html thank you

LARS -- Friday, September 9 2005, 10:46 pm
Westen haben gar keine Ärmel Du treulose Tomate!

adam brodsley -- Tuesday, November 15 2005, 02:43 am
i'm glad you didn't use an electrical socket!

stuart frolick -- Tuesday, December 20 2005, 09:21 pm
I'm trying to reconnect with Piper Murakami. Please ask her to e-mail me at: stuartfrolick@hotmail.com or: sfrolick@calarts.edu many thanks, Stuart Frolick

justine mendoza -- Tuesday, May 9 2006, 08:09 pm
This is still up. I see it al the time on my way to and from the school. Now i know why it was made, although the message was/is clear.

justine -- Tuesday, May 9 2006, 08:14 pm
(see above) i meant the "wilderness: project




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