‘What Do You Have To Lose?’ evolved to fit a space. A corrugated community alley. Surrounded by music, combat paper, and deep-frying books, the collaged narrative canvas was unveiled at Burlington, Vermont’s annual Art Hop in 2007. The 5’ x 25’ canvas was part of an Art Hop installation the year prior, in which participants were invited to give, rather than lose, by contributing collagable items to a 30’ canvas strung with clothing line. The thesis was, and remains, that we can only lose that which we are unable to give.
After the 2006 Art Hop, the canvas was rolled up for the year, and placed in a basement next to stacks of newspapers and magazines. An invitation to contribute a year later initiated its revisiting, but a studio five feet too short cut the canvas into two, resulting in the current WDYHTL and ‘Fear’ canvases. After covering the canvases with collaged theses, the question,‘What Do You Have To Lose?’, and answer,‘Fear’, was presented at the Green Door Studio for open discussion.
Throughout the two days of the 2007 Art Hop, the canvas remained installed outside, exposed to wind, rain, Sharpies, spray paint, acrylics, and crayons. Wallet photos and news clippings were adhered. Rainbows appeared next to words of resistance, multiple peace signs. People were invited to play.
The visual storyboard initially produced is now all but illegible, given a new voice by the interpretations of its countless participants. In losing its plot the story gained a motive – collaboration, conversation, and beauty. Growth.
