Project Idea: A full-sized mannequin covered in art that represents New York City
For our project for the STEAM festival this winter, the six of us plan to create an embodiment of New York City. We aim to find all the different ways that we interact with the city, and how the city impacts us. By combining those details in an artistic way, we will create the New Yorker: a mannequin covered with art about all different aspects of New York City. Each body part will have a different story because each body part is impacted differently by this city. This concept relates to our past units of street photography and our focus on New York City, as well as the impact certain surroundings have on various works of art.
All six of us will have a different part of the body on the mannequin to work with. Each person will be assigned for example, the legs, arms etc. This ensures that we all have a solid contribution to the finished product and no one person is doing considerably more than anyone else. When we decide which person will cover what body part, we will cover that body part in art that corresponds with how that part of the body interacts with the city. For example, the legs of the mannequin will be covered with art that represents transportation around the city and the arms will represent common things that New Yorkers are always seen carrying with them.
Since our mannequin is a standing representation of our artwork, we will be displaying various pictures and written explanations of our process in making it. Explanations of certain pictures will be included as well, which will be utilized as talking points for our presentations during the STEAM festival.
Dominique’s portion will be the back of the mannequin. The back of the mannequin, and the backs of New Yorkers are often overlooked and under appreciated. The back not only carries various bags and items, but is a canvas for New York’s iconic and progressive fashion industry. The back of this New Yorker (the mannequin) will showcase a multitude of items people have carried on their backs and have showcased as a means of art and fashion.
Andrew’s portion of the mannequin will be the legs. The legs of the mannequin and of a normal New Yorker represent how you get around. With this part of the mannequin, we will decorate it with means of transportation. This could be the train, bus, cabs, uber, lyft, ferry, or just walking around. The legs will incorporate photos of the regular new yorker taking these forms of transportation using some of the artistic mediums that we learned about so far this semester. This will include photos, objects, and possibly small sculptures all over the legs. The feet could have the popular boot brand “Timberlands”. There will be photos all over the legs that can be interpreted for the punctum and which studium (street, train station, borough) it is in.
Teona’s section of the body is the head. Obviously, the human head has many different parts and functions, including housing four of the five senses. With these senses we would like to incorporate the many things that you can hear, smell, see, and taste in NYC. For instance, in reference to the ears, in NYC a person can always hear the traffic and “hustle and bustle” of the streets. In addition they can attend a music festival, a concert in Central Park, or go to the Opera at Lincoln Center. For the eyes, we can discuss the various things a person sees in NYC on a daily basis. Such things may include skyscrapers, yellow taxi cabs, food carts, and so much more.
Rushabh’s area is the torso, on the torso some things we’d like to include are the different types of things that are usually involved with the torso area of a human. One idea that we are exploring are including different types of food, or signage related to food such as the Dunkin Doughnut logo, or neon halal food signage. Another thing that we may add on the torso may be piercings that we see on New Yorkers such as a belly button piercing. Or if we use a male mannequin include a Calvin Klein waistband because of their marketing on downtown NY billboards. All aspects of our project are about how things that surround us in New York are related to humans and how we as New Yorkers incorporate what is around us in our daily life.