Field of Good Fortune, now very fortunate.

Last night I was very honored to attend a public art funding face off in Columbia SC. My modest proposal was one of three finalist asked to defend our idea and the feasibility of it. At the end of the evening, after a brief deliberation, my project was announced as the winner. I am excited to say that this is one of those ideas I have had kicking around for a bit with no definite outlet and when this call from the Columbia Design league went out I saw an ideal site within the main street corridor of Columbia to have this realized. I always knew I could make the large scale fortune cookie fortunes in some physical form, but it was getting the permissions, easements and insurance necessary to install that would require the backing of a large organization to be realized, now I have that support. Moving forward through the coming months I will post updates as they happen, but for now it looks like they will be installed in the green space I selected and throughout various other green spaces lining Columbia’s main street. As far as a timetable at this moment I am committing to installing the fortunes during the month of May 2011. That is all I know for now, but it truly is turning out to be a field of good fortune for me and for the city of Columbia South Carolina. Below is a brief proposal summary and some images of my model and other proposal images.

Field of Good Fortune,  May 2011, Columbia, SC

Temporary outdoor installation

Field of Good Fortune will be a series of life size fortune cookie fortunes. These fortunes will be printed on sign material mounted to metal sheeting and arranged to create a series of pathways in the grassy area on the corner of Main and Lady. This arrangement will redefine the space allowing the viewer to walk around and experience the grassy area in a new context. Additionally large-scale fortunes could be placed in the green spaces which run up and down main street. The large-scale fortunes will provide a moment of respite and reflection in the capitol city. Each fortune will be chosen from the artist’s extensive collection of fortune cookie fortunes. The selected fortunes, while seeming random and cryptic will provide the citizens of Columbia a point from which to contemplate their own personal good fortune and well-being. Finally by requiring that the installation only remain on view for a maximum of  six weeks, the time spent in the Field of Good Fortune, will be more precious as the particular arrangement and choice of fortunes will only exist for this brief time frame.