Friday, August 31, 2012

Awesome Images of the Random Acts of Queerness Quilted Map

i know, i said that i was only going to post about the map one more time, but i think i lied. i still want to post more about my process, but i also want to share the AMAZING photos that belle ancell photography took of it, and that's really too much for one post!


first, one of my photos. it's not nearly as good as belle's, but i wanted to show you the full deal. on the left of the map, i hung a roll of paper with hanging pens, and invited viewers to share their random acts of queerness. to me, this wasn't a major part of the finished piece, more an interactive aspect of the installation, so i didn't ask belle to photograph it, and i probably haven't mentioned it before. i tucked the roll away with everything else when i brought the piece home, but i'm really looking forward to spending some time poring over it!

the full install
i'm also pretty proud of myself for hanging the rods and everything, they worked exactly like i wanted them to, and they were super cheap, overall. thanks ikea!

(if you haven't already, you might want to check out my previous post about this project, with people in the photos to show scale, and my artist's statement to tell you what it's all about)



now that you have the whole idea, check out the incredible photos. belle made my work look so AWESOME!

full piece
do you see how much BETTER belle's photos are? compare this one to the one above. omg! i didn't realize mine were that bad...

belle was also super fabulous to work with. i often feel like i need a basic "how to be an artist" class, because there are so many things that i have no idea about. one of those things is having my piece professionally photographed - who, what, where?

UBC
UBC/west side

she made it easy, and she didn't make me feel ridiculous not knowing what i wanted. as it turned out, the best day for her to take the photos was a day that i'd already committed to going out to the valley to hang out with Cynthia, Lysa, Carol and Kalin, and Kalin was counting on me to drive her, so i couldn't be there when belle took them. she was awesome about removing the instruction sheet (cause all the pins were used by then anyway) and putting it back after the photos.

Stanley Park
Stanley Park. so awesome! "public" sex turned out to be quite a reoccurring theme with this piece, though it was spread out a lot more in other parts of the city.

i've thought about having my work photographed before, and the lovely Sonja took some photos for me when i submitted a few quilts to the IQF, but that's as far as i've gotten with that idea. a dear friend gently persuaded me that i HAD to start archiving my work, this piece in particular.

downtown
downtown

belle was already photographing other aspects of the Queer Arts Festival (including opening night), and i knew her work was fabulous because she took awesome shots of my bingo quilt last year, so it worked out perfectly to have her take these photos.

Beach Ave
Beach Avenue. you can tell where the Pride Parade route goes, can't you?

downtown closeup
more of a closeup of downtown

Seymour St
Seymour and Davie St

Granville Bridge
the Granville Bridge

pins poking out
i was actually picturing the pins pushed in the whole way, but i'm glad folks didn't, it looks so cool with them all sticking out!

east van
east van, oh how i miss you.


didn't she do an amazing job? i'm so happy to have such wonderful images of such a labour intensive project!


(belle also does incredibly lovely portraits - if that's something you're interested in, i'd highly recommend you check out the gallery on her website!)

12 comments:

wobblybobbin said...

I'm so glad you posted again, this project is absolutely beautiful, in more ways than one!

LimeRiot said...

Whoa. This amazing project has left me speechless.

Cherie said...

Wow those photo's are incredible! It must have taken a good while to put all the pins in =D

Poppyprint said...

Amy, the photos are incredible and they really give me an appreciation for the amount of labour you put into this project. To achieve the proper scale and proportion and fit in all the streets and park spaces stitched like that. WOW! It's amazing. I bet the scroll is an excellent read! I look forward to hearing some stories! Congratulations on yet another inspiring entry to the Queer Arts Festival.

felicity said...

Wow - this is definitely a masterpiece. Yes the photos are wonderful but the subject is unique, beautiful and inspiring. Again: wow. I hope you are able to find a way to bring it to guild!

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

Super brilliant; and the photos were pretty cool too xxx

Cathy said...

Wow! Fabulous! What a lot of work and it is ll just grand! Whaty are you going to do with it now.

Cynthia F said...

This piece is amazing, and of course it is because *you* are amazing! Awesome awesome awesome!!

Susan J Barker said...

that is one of the amazing things about art in any form, to convey your ideas, beliefs, feelings, wishes and anything else to other people in a dynamic way. This is beautiful and thought provoking.

Elke said...

Wow, what an amazing work of art! The photos are great to see all the details. It looks very cool with all the pins in it too. Nice work Amy, absolutely amazing!

Lysa said...

Amy! This is such an incredible piece of art! I love it! Congratulations you must be so proud!

Laura said...

Amy that is truly amazing! I had heard about all the little grey bits you were cutting up. It is a masterpiece!

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