Michael Workman

Not three months ago a man stood on the topmost rungs of an aluminum ladder in front of the Network of Visual Art building at 840 West Washington that I manage, trying not to get blown off by unusually violent gusts of wind. It was mid-April and he was trying to place a series of vinyl letters spelling the phrase "You Are Beautiful" across the windows on the second floor of the building. Wind whipped the vinyl in his hands, turning an otherwise hour-long project into a struggle for life and limb that lasted all afternoon. Eventually, he succeeded in placing them and they've been there ever since. We'll probably never take them down.

More than a single series of vinyl letters, "You Are Beautiful" is the name of "an anonymous collective based in Chicago." That's exactly how one member of the collective that makes up the "You Are Beautiful" crew asked I identify the group, citing anonymity as a key factor in the success of the project. "If you make it about one person, people feel like they can't make it their project," he enthused (learn more at www.you-are-beautiful.com). That purely egalitarian impulse has served as the catalyst for the distribution of more than 100,000 "You Are Beautiful" stickers which turn up just about everywhere (I've seen them in bathrooms, on lampposts, stairway railings, mailboxes--they're amazingly ubiquitous) as well as larger-scale installations such as the N.O.V.A. text. You've seen them somewhere. Maybe want to hang a few stickers yourself? You're in luck: send a self-addressed stamped envelope to You Are Beautiful, PO Box # 220175, Chicago, IL 60622 and in two-to-eight weeks, you'll receive a pack of them in the mail. But what, exactly, is the point of this project?

It's self-explanatory, really. Everywhere, only this single phrase appears: It's a compliment, a nice thing to say. Every statement ever posted about the project defends the right of viewers to make nothing more of it, though their website does describe the group's intent to spread "a positive message throughout the world by any means necessary except through commercial use." And they're deadly serious about that anti-commercial stance: they've even gone so far as to secure copyrights and explicitly bar reproduction of the phrase on T-shirts, coffee mugs or any other products that could "potentially commodify the message, even [offered] free of charge." Put simply, it's an ambitious socio-cultural investigation meant to cut through the barrage of media messages and transmit into the public sphere a phrase not intended to sell, shill or in any way compel viewers to engage in consumer behavior. It's perhaps the richest example of this type of interactive art project in recent memory (a close race with Alamo & Costello's Appleseed International Project, for example: users.rcn.com/refocus/appleseed.html) and one that has grown significantly in complexity and layers of public involvement over time.

These types of art projects breathe life back into an art world obsessed with fame to the point of developing a collective narcissistic personality disorder and messily killing itself. That's why it was such a pleasure to learn that the group had also launched what they call the "You Are/I Am" project, a sideline but equally valuable enterprise. Similar to "You Are Beautiful," the "You Are/I Am" project also reaches out into the public sphere, but through the much more individualized media of books and postcards. At Open End Gallery in the West Loop this past weekend, the group exhibited the book half of You Are/I Am. It's a functional title: each book has the words "You Are" on one side and "I Am" on the other. Participants were asked to write or in some way respond to these two phrases, with a text on the inside covers stating "no limit to the number of responses or pages used" and encouraging participants to "use any media and any form of collage." Each book was numbered and assigned to a specific host. Books were hosted locally by a long list of people including artist Mike Genovese (#41), and as far away as #44's Sophie Fenyvesi of Budapest, Hungary, #23's Kamardo of Lyon, France or #14's They of Manchester in the United Kingdom, then passed on to the Cute Crimes Crew in Minneapolis. The results are enticing for their sheer variety: one of my favorites was #59, hosted by art group Insect in the UK, and #56 from Justin Fees in Amsterdam, two of a smaller group of books with hardboard pages. In this second, the book was drilled with two perfectly round holes the size of dimes in the center bottom page, with each of a series of artists challenged to find a solution to the negative spaces.

This coming weekend the postcard half of the show opens at River West's Foundation Gallery, where they'll be pasted to the walls. They work on the same principle as the books, each phrase appearing at opposite ends of the card and participants' responses sandwiched between. Don't sweat it if you missed the book half of the show: they'll also be available for viewing here. Those in need of convincing should note the double-whammy reason to visit: it's this "alt-space" gallery's last show in Chicago before relocating to Los Angeles in the fall. But, more importantly, the success of projects like "You Are Beautiful" and "You Are/I Am" relies on the enthusiasm of a community willing to help to deliver its messages. It's a project whose purpose of positive reinforcement for its own sake and curiosity about those around us (we used to call that "dialogue") have reached far and wide out into the community over the years, and with any luck will likely continue its spread for years to come.

"You Are/I Am" shows at Foundation Gallery, 700 North Carpenter, (312)860-0740, through August 21.

(2005-08-02)

Also by Michael Workman

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In Von Kommanivanh's imagined world, darkness rules
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In the last week alone, I've received more than 100 text messages on my cell phone, three different Hallmark cards and four post-midnight (often at 2 or 4am) voicemail messages. I don't have to guess who it is. I know who it is. It's my crack-whore stalker
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Eye Exam
If there's any single art form constantly in jeopardy of not having enough practitioners, it's sculpture
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(2005-06-09)

Eye Exam
(2005-06-09)

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(2005-05-24)

Tip of the Week
(2005-05-24)

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