SXSW Experiment
By:
March 13, 2012
I felt some sense of responsibility; what are the odds that my co-AiR would offer such a generous prompt right off the bat? In the middle of wrapping up SXSW preparations, I headed to the Cincinnati Zoo, about a half mile from my house, to find the place where Martha took her final breath. I’ll post the results of that pilgrimage next week.
![booth](https://www.hilobrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/booth.jpg)
People have been incredibly generous with our little social experiment here at SXSW. Their involvement is predicated on the empty half-sheet we hand them, mandating that they are to respond to only one of three prompts:
1. What’s the problem? What’s the answer?
2. Make art.
3. I promise to donate (blank) to (blank).
![form](https://www.hilobrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/form.jpg)
Number 2 has generated the most replies, by a long shot. The Day 1 results:
Answer: 34 replies
Art: 65 replies
Gift: 25 replies
![artwall](https://www.hilobrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/artwall.jpg)
My colleague Joyce and I have begun to organize the artifacts into threads, based on the subjective criterion of “what seems to make sense.” Thus far:
1. Art for Art’s Sake
a. Non-representational
i. conceptual
ii. expressionist
b. Representational
i. Figurative
1. eyes
2. body
ii. Animals
iii. Vegetables
iv. Landscape
2. Peace, Love, and Understanding
3. Subversion
![girl](https://www.hilobrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/girl.jpg)
4. 42 (Questions without answers)
5. Pragmatism
6. Donations
a. Physical
b. Non-physical
i. Time
ii. Other
7. Mustaches
8. SXSW
9. Shameless Self-Promotion
![aliens](https://www.hilobrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/aliens.jpg)
Today will likely include a greater degree of illustration and modeling; hoping to see how people can continue to push the boundaries of our experiment. Stop by Stand 310 if you’re in the area. #artgiftanswer on Twitter to follow our progress(?) live.
Read more from artist-in-residence Mike Fleisch on HiLobrow.
HILOBROW’s Artist-in-residence archive.