In Response...

To jockchick's comment (on 'A Fresh Start'):

I apologise for the offence I seem to have caused with my comments on the card you returned. I was in fact delighted and quite surprised to receive a response at all, and I thank you for the time and effort you put into it - this gratitude was not initally posted on the website as I intended this to be a blog on the contents of the project itself, not on my thoughts regarding the project.

You say that you 'can’t put a blank canvas out to people without being ready to accept what you receive back'. I agree completely, but I would claim that it was not a blank canvas I offered - there were guidlines, albeit rather loosely defined. The 'freedom' I spoke of may have been misleading. I was referring to a freedom based within a broad creative framework that had indeed been predetermined, not the ideological kind of 'true' freedom you may have extracted from my words, which I see as having little relevance in the real world where everything is bound by rules of some form. This is of course a matter of opinion and, frankly, rather extraneous.

Again, thank you for your card. Despite what you may think it was greatly appreciated and has (along with your comment) provided significant help with the project by way of increasing my understanding of my own literary failings and the issues of communication I need to overcome in future.

Kind regards,

The Curiosity Project

A Fresh Start

Ten new envelopes have been prepared and will be distributed around Edinburgh over the next few days. I have numbered them from 1-10 on the inside of the envelope which is returned to me, so I can keep track of which locations result in a returned card. The locations of each envelope will be filled in below as and when they are distributed:

1. An unused table in Starbucks
2. The ice cream freezer in Tesco
3. The Cameo Cinema
4. The steps of the Edinburgh College of Art
5. At a free computer in the University of Edinburgh Main Library
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

At the moment I plan to use all of the suitable responses as source cards and will then run each of them as their own individual project. This plan is subject to change.

# 1 - Welcome To The World Of Tangquila

This is the card I received in response to the first envelope. It was a huge disappointment.

The card will will not be used as the 'source' card for the rest of the project. Instead I will distribute more envelopes and wait until I receive a more suitable response. It could be argued that this defeats the whole idea of the project being 'organic' - if at all possible I would have liked to use the first card. However, in my message I asked for the card to be 'thought-provoking, something that will draw an emotional response from people' and I asked for it to 'give people the opportunity to express opinions or feelings which they would normally keep to themselves'. I am not using this card on the grounds that I do not feel it satisfies these requests. I also think that while people may follow the instructions and the results may be interesting, it is unlikely to lead to people actually recording their responses in the form of a card, making the project invisible.


My message will be altered in future envelopes to describe my wishes more explicity, as in some ways I can see how my wording may have led to confusion over what was required.

An Introduction

This project is an organic and experimental art project borne out of my own curiosity. I cannot predict the results and I cannot fully explain the process that it will involve until it develops of its own accord. I will have very little power over the direction the project takes. I will have almost no creative input. All I have provided is the initial idea and all I can do is explain how it began:

On 3rd October 2008 I left a large envelope on the steps in front of the Edinburgh College of Art. Only one word was written on the envelope - 'curious?'

Inside the envelope was a note, a blank postcard and a stamped addressed envelope with my address on it. The note read as follows:

THANK YOU FOR PICKING THIS UP. BY DOING SO YOU HAVE BECOME THE FIRST PARTICIPANT IN THE CURIOSITY PROJECT.

IF YOU HAVE NO INTEREST IN TAKING PART, PLEASE PLACE EVERYTHING BACK IN THE ENVELOPE AND LEAVE IT FOR THE NEXT PERSON TO FIND.

OTHERWISE, I AM GIVING YOU THE FREEDOM TO DECIDE WHAT DIRECTION THIS PROJECT TAKES. DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH THE BLANK PIECE OF CARD ENCLOSED: ISSUE AN INSTRUCTION, ASK A QUESTION, DRAW A PICTURE... ANYTHING YOU WANT. THEN POST IT BACK TO ME USING THE ENVELOPE ALSO PROVIDED.

YOUR CARD WILL THEN BE COPIED AND LEFT IN MORE ENVELOPES FOR THE NEXT PARTICIPANTS TO FIND. THEY TOO WILL BE GIVEN BLANK CARDS ON WHICH THEY WILL ISSUE THEIR RESPONSES.

MY ONLY REQUEST IS THAT YOU USE YOUR CARD WELL: MAKE IT THOUGHT-PROVOKING, SOMETHING THAT WILL DRAW AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE FROM PEOPLE. THE WHOLE PROCESS WILL BE ANONYMOUS, SO GIVE PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS OPINIONS OR FEELINGS WHICH THEY WOULD NORMALLY KEEP TO THEMSELVES.

YOUR CARD, ALONG WITH ALL THE RESPONSES, WILL THEN BE POSTED ON WWW.THECURIOSITYPROJECT.BLOGSPOT.COM SO YOU CAN FOLLOW THE PROJECT AS IT DEVELOPS.

AS I SAID BEFORE, IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO TAKE PART, PLEASE LEAVE THIS FOR THE NEXT PERSON TO FIND.

THANK YOU.

THE CURIOSITY PROJECT

The first envelope was collected from the steps at 1:28 in the afternoon. In future I will not stay to watch the envelope be collected - this was a one-off in order to ensure the project got off to a successful start. All responses will be posted as and when they arrive. I will also keep a record of how many envelopes are dispersed, their locations and how many lead to a response. Only time will tell whether this project will be a success or not.

Curious?