Lee Patrick [Johnson]

Hello stranger!

I didn’t see you come in!  Have a seat.

Since you are here I am sure you are wondering why you randomly found a piece of artwork.  I would love to give you a simple explanation but I don’t have an answer.  I attempted to use my skills as an artist to insert curiosity, absurdity and excitement into the world.  It is up to you to decide the their fates and stories.

Where were you when you found it?  How are you doing?  How was finding it for you?  Do you see enough artwork?  Anything you want to tell me can give life to the artwork.  There are no guidelines.

I am placing these 100 objects around Providence to start a dialogue.  Join the conversation in any way!

The Letters: If you send me the letter in return I’ll put it online corresponding to the piece you have with its image and the original location.  I can do this by matching the numbers on the envelopes to the numbers on the bottoms of the pieces.  As you may have realized when you picked up this artwork, the physical presence of an object is incredibly interesting.  I am interested in the presence you give to the letters.

Enjoy – I hope to hear from you!

Disclaimer: If you came to my website before I had a chance to get the images and the google map up you will have to check back a little later!  I may still be around Providence dropping off pieces! Pieces dispersed daily and left indefinitely!

And here is the beginning (Click on Images to enlarge):

Piece 1 : #33 – Rodger Williams Park (As of 12/15/09 this is Still at large)

Piece 2: #57 – Rodger Williams Park

Piece 3: #39 – Charlesgate, 100 Randal St.

Piece 4: #38 – Charlesgate, 100 Randal St.

Piece 5: #36 – North Burial Ground, Armenian Monument

Piece 6: #72 – North Burial Ground, Near a body of water.

Piece 7: #71 – Black minivan in the Benny’s parking lot with a Christmas tree on top

Piece 8: #70 – Branch ave 95 overpass

Piece 9: #12 – Main Post office drive up

Piece 10: #51 – Rhode Island Department of Transportation

Piece 11: #45 – Capital buildling

Piece 12: #47 – Providence train station

Piece 13: #58 – Burnside Park

Piece 14: #65 – Kennedy Plaza

Piece 15: #61 – Apartment Finder box, Westminster and Dorrance

Piece 16: #29 – Johnson and Wales

Piece 17: #40 – Into the post office box on Dorrance and Pine

Piece 18: #63 – Outside the First Universalist church on Green and Washington

Piece 19: #59 – Providence Public Safety complex

Piece 20: #82 – All Saints Memorial Church

Piece 21: #68 – Instructions to Boy on street to give to anyone or keep.  “I don’t like my picture taken”.  I thought he said “I don’t like bitches”

Piece 22: #52 – Central High

Piece 23: #89 – Providence Public Library, next to computer

Piece 24: #76 – Providence Public Library, on a table

Piece 25: #53 – Packett st in an information booth

Piece 26: #60 – Ladder co. 8, Fire Department

Piece 27: #66 – The corner of George and Brook

Piece 28: #62 – Slipped into Janet Zweig’s bag

Piece 29: #54 – Given to Natasha Khanderkar

Piece 30: #7 – Olney St. Baptist Church

Piece 31: #77 – 360 Hope St.  Chabad house Jewish Hospitality Center

Piece 32: #25 – Given to random employee in Clarke Flower Shop, Hope st.

Piece 33: #78 – Empty phone booth on the corner of Hope and Doyle

Piece 34: #50 – Behind Ladd Observatory on the ground (Obscure place)

Piece 35: #19 – Weird tree on the corner of Cole and Freeman

Piece 36: #43 – Bench on Blackstone Blvd.

Piece 37: #56 – Temple Beth~el.  Orchard Ave

Piece 38: #67 – Starbucks, Wayland Sq

Piece 39: #64 – On top of a tall wall on the corner of Arlington and Angell

Piece 40: #88 – On a table in Nice Slice on Thayer st.

Piece 41: #55 – On top of an ATM machine on Thayer st.

Piece 42: #16 – Given to the woman at the Rhode Island Foundation front desk (still there?)

Piece 43: #44 – Left on Providence Place Mall food court table.

Piece 44: #31 – Left on an Outback in the PP Mall parking lot.  It had surfing gear on top and tags about beaches.  It made me remember the fact I live by the beach and never go there.

Piece 45: #32 – Blue Prium (like my Aunt B’s) with a sticker on the gas tank that said “Poodles Rule”.  I agree person, I agree.

Piece 46: #8 – Given to woman working at Coin-Op on Smith St.  As I walked out I heard “Oh, this actually IS a nice mug.”

Piece 47: #4 – Sojorner House on Smith St, “Committed to ending domestic violence”

Piece 48: #49 – Left on monument at Smith Hill Historical Site.

Piece 49: #27 – Random house, 166 Jewett St.

Piece 50: #30 – Billy Talor Park, Cypress and Camp

Piece 51: #42 – 229 Camp St., Evergreen Apartments

Piece 52: #6 – 702 Elmgrove

Piece 53: #62 – Ruffuls Restaurant, given to the waitress

Piece 54: #18 – Given to employee at Mister Sister on Wickenden St.

Piece 55: #46 – Coffee Place on Wickenden… I forgot to write down the name

Piece 56: #17 – Nightingale-Brown House, 357 Benefit st

Piece 57: #35 – Left on table at the RISD Watermark

Here are the letters, e-mails, pictures and posts regarding the pieces that people have responded to.  I’m not altering anything, just exploring meaning.  Send me WHATEVER.  Art has no rules.

Piece 2: #57 – Rodger Williams Park

Posted by Bill Benson on 12.13.09 at 3:17 pm:  Hi, saw yr work this am. Left it where it was, now its gone. Best of luck. Bill

LJ: I’m interested why you didn’t take the piece?

12/14: Lee, I used to live above Steeple street and I would hang paintings all around that area for people to take. I never knew who took them or why, but occasionally I would see one hanging in someone’s house while at a party or someone would ask me if it were mine. I too enjoyed the mystery of coincidence. Now I’m back to photography. Several times this month I have been stopped by the police while out early or late. And I’ve started saying the same thing, I’m not trespassing, I am documenting. And so I try not to manipulate the scene. Maybe if I were just out for a bike ride I’d have taken it. Anyway, now we’re both wondering where it is. I’ll send you some other photos of the piece and feel free to use them all.  Bill

12/15:  Lee, on my way to the cafe today, on my bike, I decided to go through the park and look for more bowls. Half way through I caught something on the ground which was a bit odd because the rangers keep it pretty neat. Its yr letter and bag. Pretty sure you won’t find out where it went now. Bill

LJ: Ha!  How interesting.  I wonder which piece it is.   Did you leave the bag/envelop in place?  I’m interested in the number on the inside of the letter- that will dictate the piece.  I have no clue if anyone will write me back for any of the pieces.  It is all speculation that anyone would care past the commodity.  That is not for me to decide.  Off to disperse more works, Feel free to try to engage the project and find any of the more obscure ones.

Piece 3: #39 – Charlesgate, 100 Randal St.

Posted by Perry Pono on 10.12.09 at 1:29 pm

I found your piece while you were photographing it at the rear of 50 Randall St. and asked what you were doing. Your reply reminded me of a person who left small figures in places throughout the world and thought that was…well I really do not know what I thought until I met you and your explanation on your site of being exposed to art. I guess art is what the viewer sees and what art means to him/her. I like to draw and used to make super heros for my nephew. The hours it took me to make it was worth the reaction I received…bringing a smile to another…Thanks.

Piece 17: #40 – Into the post office box on Dorrance and Pine -  “postage due” slip.  I think this is just as interesting as the vessel.

Piece 28: #62 – Slipped into Janet Zweig’s bag

“Hello Lee,

Last thought before taking a nap: what is this object in my bag? a bowl, a painting, a sculpture, a memento, a totem, an artifact, a gift, a conversation, a strategy. And a magical device to recover childhood memories.

Bests, Janet”

Piece 38: #67 – Starbucks, Wayland Sq

I discovered your beautiful bowl on Tuesday afternoon outside the Starbucks in Wayland Square. I was so humbled to find your piece & delighted. I actually looked around to see if anyone else was around. It was hard for me to believe that the ‘you’ was me!
I’m actually a RISD alumni (2007) from the industrial & graphic design departments. I was inside the Starbucks in Wayland Square studying for my Anatomy final exam. Since RISD, I went back to school to try something completely different. I’ve felt disconnected to art scene & all the amazingly talented, artsy friends I made there. Thank you for brightening up my day and making me feel once again connected. Actually,  my senior degree project focused on the process of giving thanks and (essentially) doing random acts of kindness for people…so I feel like karma has returned in my favor! What a great idea & how fascinating to hear all the different stories from all involved.
Good Luck & thanks again,
Carrie

Piece 56: #17 – Nightingale-Brown House, 357 Benefit st

This Is For You! Did you find a piece? [Is this for you?]

Write to me.  I want to hear from you.

This is the process I went through in order to make the functional pieces.  They are all food/dishwasher safe.  From here I am releasing them into the world.

I started with 250 pounds of clay.

It was thrown (on the pottery wheel) into over 100 objects.

About 90 survived the ceramic processes.

Their story is below.  Now I want to hear yours!

Since the installed of my piece in the Sol Koffler Gallery I was forced to cease the evolution of the piece as a physical entity.  In order to continue to let the piece evolve I began to study the data that I collected from the piece (the film, the photographs, the evolution to the state it is currently in) as well as researched the philosophy, physicality and theory that arose from the piece’s existence.  I am interested in the quantification of the artistic practice from a materialist (scientific) approach.  My patterns of thought began by studying the Context, Science, Art, and Reaction of the my artwork.   Much of the context and reaction of my work was formed by the “relational aesthetics” (Bourriaud) quality of my work as a means of instigating dialogue, interaction and thought into the realm of ‘Social art’ (’Public art’).  Social art took me into studying Marxist theory and the Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu.   Simultaneously I was approaching means by which I could scientifically quantify the effects of art upon society or the viewer (Psychological studies, sociological studies, reactionary measurements of physiologic state — such as vital signs, and an array of other realms).  I began to perceive arts tendency to drift into the Idealistic realm of philosophy where it’s evolution becomes inhibited by the idea that there is something “otherworldly” about it.   Art should not be so easily persuaded into such a simplistic rational for it’s existence.  So here I am, attempting to bring together the critical social, scientific, and philosophical aspects of art into a philosophy of working and thinking.

Art like philosophy doesn’t have an answer.  Answers can be deducted through introspection but never proven.

So this is the proposal Ben and I submitted that won the ‘Sitings 2010: Museum as Action’ competition at the RISD Museum of Art.  Our piece will be displayed at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art from February 26 until June 8th 2010.  Not gonna lie, I’m immensely excited.  I plan to keep this post growing as we fabricate the column, get the digital projection working and finally install the piece.  There are going to be a lot of difficulties but I am confident we can pull it off flawlessly.

Project Narrative One

Our site-specific collaboration, entitled “The Column”, will exist on the back of the freestanding video wall of the Media Gallery.  Our points of reference are the two existing columns that frame our primary installation space (diagrams 1).  The piece will consist of one sculpted column that bends away from the wall and looms over the viewer, at approximately a thirty-degree angle from the wall.  The remaining space between the pre-existing columns will consist of three repeated video projections of a reference column.

Materials for this piece will address two needs, one being the fabrication of the column the other being the electronic hardware needed for projected media.  The sculpted column will be attached to the wall using a wood and metal armature that will be hidden within the column. The column form will be made of high-density foam covered in a coating of plaster then latex paint (diagram 3).  The image will come from a video projector mounted on the adjacent stairwell (diagram 2).   The materials needed for projection are a DVD projector, a DVD of digital images, hardware and cables.

On the day of installation, we will prepare the projection wall as a blank white canvas then initiate the projection.  This will dictate the placement of the pre-fabricated sculpted column, which will be placed to have two columns projected to the left and one column to the right.  To return the installation space to its original conditions we will remove the projector, all hardware and the sculpted column.  After removal of all elements will we spackle, sand, and paint any altered areas to meet specifications dictated by the museum.

Project Narrative Two

For this proposal, we researched the spaces available and chose one that inspired us and spoke to the mission statement of the Sightings 2010 Prospectus.  Site B, the backside of the Media Gallery, included two column forms and a wall.  The location is ideal for utilizing the columns to address classical concepts of art and the ephemeral nature of new media contextualized within the adjacent museum space.  Additionally the architecture of this space allows for the viewer to interact directly with the piece.  The decision to mimic the pre-existing columns both in sculptural form and digital media urges the viewer to question the material nature of contemporary art.

The projection will be high definition photographs taken of the reference column.  This element will be interactive in that the viewer will cast a shadow and alter the projected light by moving through the path of the video while viewing the piece.  The sculpted column will be altered so that the upper portion leans away from the wall and over the viewer (diagram 3).  The choice to manipulate the classical column form establishes the artifice of the piece and creates tension to visually impact the viewer.

The overall conceptual framework for this piece is based on the idea that the museum is put in a position to both provide creative outlet and also to contextualize art.  Inherently this delicate balance creates tension and dialogue in the need for granting creative freedom to the artist while curating for the museum audience.  As academics, we perceive the RISD Museum as not solely a vitrine for housing and cataloging art but also a place for the collaborative discourse between the public, the artist, and the institution.  To execute this viewpoint we made choices of media and form that allow the viewer to enter the piece as a participant and while encouraging conversation regarding the fluctuating nature of art in the museum space.

Budget:

Item #	Description	Cost	Quantity	Total
1	1 gal. Flat Int. White Paint	$15	1	$15
2	2 gal. Premium Spackle	$20	1	$20
3	1 gal. Flat Int. White Paint	$15	1	$15
4	1” Rigid Poly Foam-8’x4’ sheet	$20	3	$60
5	USD Molding Plaster 50 lbs.	$25	2	$50
6	Rebar Steel Rod 10’	$5	2	$10
7	2” x 4” 8’ studs	$3	4	$12
8	Recordable DVD	$5	1	$5
9	Track Lighting Plug	$30	1	$30
10	Misc Hardware and Fasteners	$40	-	$40
11	Projector (with DVD player)		1	$723
12	Super 77 Spray Glue Cans	$10	2	$20
			Total	$1000

Images:

All information regarding the competition can be found at http://www.risdmuseum.org/

Sol Koffler Exhibition (Cracked)

10/4/09

Hm, the last post wasn’t exactly correct.  There will be no “final transformation”.  That was too conceptually finite and insipid.  Recently I have been approaching art as one in the same with philosophy.  There is never an answer.  I began creating this sequence and have continued to transform it it from one form to another seeking an answer.  As I followed the track of the object back from it’s pre-meditated “next state” the question I came to is simply ‘what drives us to create?’.  So what drives me?  Since my time studying psychology and working in Brooklyn I’ve been fascinated in studying man (specifically psychologically) through art.  The exact scope of all of this is still uncertain.  I just see this piece as a beginning.  The beginning of another question.

I have decided that this piece will never be shown in another venue without another transformation.  That could be done by myself, the curators of the exhibition, another artist, the public, or the environment.  For the next exhibition at Sol Koffler I am going to let gravity and color affect the object.  As street art-colored paint drops from blank metal cans the cold concrete/mixed media surface will slowly be masked.  This coating and color manipulation will hopefully allow the sculpture to continue to live in front of the viewer.  All the while the paint is falling through the pulse of the object: the ever-changing projected media frenzy.  Hopefully this idea will keep my work from the static death I feel so much of my past work has suffered.  I am all right with my work not being a commodity but sharing more attributes of a living organism.

Also, something I chose to incorporate is a video camera within in the space of a block I removed.  This allow for viewer interaction (whether chosen or not) as well as the accumulation of new material spawned from the object itself.  Not sure what that will be used for, but it should be interesting media.

10/29/09

This is my work at midterms.  The alteration and transformation of my work continues.  I sense this piece slowly being fuly changed from object to virtual/digital medias.  The final transformation will occur (all things considered) the night of ‘Cracked’, the RISD ceramics graduate exhibition on November 12th.

You tube isn’t letting the video work yet… coming momentarily… Fucking Youtube

I have a fixation with process and transference/ transformation of material from one state to another.  I projected my last video of myself installing/ deinstalling a sculpture onto a canvas and painted the moving projection.  I am simply amassing new material so that I can continuously re-utilize it.

I decided to let go of all emotional and physical attachment to the object-based nature of my work and approach it from the angle of performance, movement, form and existence.  I have been trying to approach the formal transformation of my dimensional work more the way I approach my paintings and drawings: based on gesture, form, color and composition.  I am working on neglecting the object completely so that the piece becomes about imagery, form, and atmosphere (a portrait of sorts -- See Robert Wilson).  I’m interested in myself becoming part of the piece but for my pieces I neglected any sort of emotion so that the focus was more on the composition and form.  This turned out to be much more difficult than I thought seeing that I ‘transitioned’ more or less every object I’ve created in the past three months into new forms: digital video, photographs, and new construction elements.  I was a compelling experiment upon myself as an artist to see how I reacted to the neglect, seeming destruction and alteration of my ideas.  I want to begin to utilize more color/video filtration, projection, viewer digital media interaction and post-production alteration to explore the realms in which my previous work has been neglected.

I see this very much as a starting point for a new phase in my work.  I am interest in using the printed photographs of the installation as the raw elements for further two-dimensional and three dimensional work.  As far as cinematography and filming are concerned I am interested in creating a much more elaborate and focused set based on my drawings, ideas and concepts.  In the context of the objects I am not as interested in physically deconstructing my work in further pieces as much as transitioning it.  I am not sure exactly how I am going to approach this but I am interested in personification/portraiture of an object and that could be a direction to take.  Regardless of the aesthetic choices I want to push my work into collaborations, events (”happenings”), social/public art or just random encounters.  I will be approaching my ideas and work with no inhibitions what-so-ever just to see what happens (that isn’t really too far of a stretch for me).  Experimentation is critical right now.  Back to work.

Form and object (Video I uploaded to Youtube)