#unmade - report 5 (41-50)

February 1, 2017 marked the beginning of a year long painting / internet art project titled #unmade.

For #unmade, I am posting, via Twitter, 100 titles for 100 unrealised paintings over the course of 2017. A painting (most likely as an acrylic and ink on canvas) is available for each title. Each #unmade painting is priced at $100. To commission a painting, a person may contact me (DM via Twitter) the day the title is posted. If no one commissions the title on the the day of the post (midnight EST), the painting will remain unmade.

The fourth set of 10 tiles (#41-50) have generated 0 commissioned paintings with 13 likes and 1 retweet. During the fourth set, the @mriver twitter account lost 1 follower for the current total of 292. Of the 12 new likes for titles #41-50, 58% are from MTAA member emeritus @twhid with @gregorg pulling in 100% of the one RT

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Here we are at halfway through. 50 down and 50 to go.

I was recently asked by a colleague a cocktail reception if I was still making art. These days only a few people I know, let alone people I work with, seem to know that I am an artist. For me, this is not a problem. It is more of a self fulfilling prophecy. It is a prophecy based on a decade old choice to make work in what was then and probably still is an obscure and financially unfeasible media (Internet Art). I made this work in a collaborative (MTAA) under a pseudonym (M.River). Really, I only have myself to blame. So, when the fellow museum professional politely asked, I found myself making an awkward explanation of #unmade. I do not think my explanation moved past the work is built twice a week for a year on Twitter before the conversation shifted to other thoughts. Yes, my cocktail chatter is as captivating as this sounds.

I did note something in the off the cuff description of #unmade that has been bouncing around my head. When asked, I called #unmade a net art project but I am not quite sure it is. In my heart it is a painting project but with 0 works produced after 50 titles, I need to let that go. #Unmade does live on the net on Twitter and in Google Docs but for some reason I’m not sure if this counts. It does fits in the model of The Simple Net Art Diagram if the CRT’s are replaced with smart phones. Overall, I’m not sure what #unmade is at this point, just that it is and that I plan to finish all 100 titles by the end of the year. Calling #unmade Net Art functions only as shorthand at this point.

Next up Titles 51-60 - Titles for possible Great American Landscape Paintings. permanent link to this post