Steven Wolkoff
I plan to turn the hotel room into a large scale installation of my piece “free verse”.
Similar to the popular refrigerator word magnets, "free verse" is an audience participation painting featuring dried acrylic paint words placed on top of an unstretched, partially primed canvas. The audience is invited to play with the words and move them around to create their own poetry. Half the words come from Walt Whitman, the father of free verse poetry. Others come from other poetry, song lyrics, personal choices, and free association.
While the piece is a painting – in as far as it makes use of paint on canvas - “free verse” rejects the traditional conventions of painting, existing in a constant state of flux, changing with the whims of anyone who chooses to interact with the piece. The audience's hand is as important - or more important - than the artist's.
I plan to cover the hotel room in canvas, set up dried paint words on the various flat surfaces (the bed, desk, night stands, etc.), and invite the public to interact with the piece. In addition, I plan to invite songwriters and poets to visit the room and create work during the course of the show. I will document the piece as it changes, and will invite visitors to instagram their creations.
For more information about Steven Wolkoff, please visit his website.