DO IT YOURSELF AT 14°N 61°W

IMAA

HENRIK STRÖMBERG

« faint single chime pause as echo die »

IMAA – INSTRUCTION MANUALS AND ACCESSORIES – A limited series of instructional contemporary art kits

, intends to invite artists to conceive an original artwork to be made by me, during my relocation on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean for the next years.

It is intended that the participating artists send via shipping, a box, container or else.. with the components and instructions for me to realize their work.

With instructions that are clear and detailed, I should be able to create the artwork in a manner as close as possible to the artist’s intention.

IMAA – INSTRUCTION MANUALS AND ACCESSORIES

will consist in a series of unique works of art, artist objects, which eventually may become an edition (with the artist agreement) and available for sale to collectors.

IMAA –

INSTRUCTION MANUALS AND ACCESSORIES is an original idea to contribute to the accessibility, the promotion and the distribution of contemporary art with the use of the old pattern of personal involvement and skills.

Here are some of the key principles behind the project:

To generate art as a process in which the artist and I establish a dialogue, an intellectual and material exchange, a collaboration, etc., taking part in a challenging project..

To bridge the relational gap between artists and collectors and involve the latter in the production process of an artwork he wants to eventually acquire (if we decide to develop a limited edition of the artwork).

To invite collectors to take part in an original project and to commit to the process of making the artwork they would purchase.

To invite artists to think out their « comfort zone », their working frame, transgress or not the original idea and still produce an « original » artwork.

To challenge the current trend of « art as a commodity » – art collectors support art ideas and statements, but buy mostly bound to aging art objects, etc.

To compile in a publication, all the artworks that will be included in the project.

To exhibit, the resulting artworks after a 2 years period

To open a temporary art outlet, with a dedicated home page to feature the process and collection (or some highlights) of works produced during the period.

 In order to achieve IMAA – INSTRUCTION MANUALS AND ACCESSORIES, artists are invited to provide a set containing:

all the necessary materials to realize the artwork

a detailed manual of instructions on how to build the work

visuals, drawings, all specifics et technical requirement to build the work

a shopping list (if applies)

a certificate of authenticity of the work

a note from the artist describing briefly the work and the artist’s intention

IMAA – INSTRUCTION MANUALS AND ACCESSORIES

has been launched in January 2013 and the first kits will be assembled during May 2013 and so on. The project should run for 2 years ending up with a retrospective group exhibition of the projects, in one of the art institutions of the Caribbean; and the publication of a catalogue by the end of 2015.

In order to feature IMAA – INSTRUCTION MANUALS AND ACCESSORIES, a dedicated homepage will be launched at the beginning of the project. It will present the various stages of production of the artwork, a biography of the artist and an explanatory note about the artwork.

 http://14n61w.wix.com/imaa

In addition, the resulting artwork will displayed for a period of 4 weeks.

IMAA – INSTRUCTION MANUALS AND ACCESSORIES

will start with the release of one artwork after the other, and will seek to grow with the addition of works by established artists as well as new comers.

IMAA – INSTRUCTION MANUALS AND ACCESSORIES

should be available for sale via the dedicated homepage, at the artist’s gallery of choice (when applies), or during the single exhibition of the artwork and the ending retrospective of the project.

IMAA – INSTRUCTION MANUALS AND ACCESSORIES

should be affordable, but shouldn’t necessarily be cheap and small.

Agreements should be reached through further exchanges with artists and their gallery (when applies) regarding the involvement of scholars and young public in the project.

In the end, what will matter and make the success of IMAA – INSTRUCTION MANUALS AND ACCESSORIES is the the enthusiasm of all participants.

 Instructional art or « Do-it-yourself » art is nothing new. In 1919, Marcel Duchamp who is credited to be the first artist to produce instructional art, sent instructions to his sister and new husband for the creation of their own wedding present. To create the oddly named wedding present, Unhappy Ready-Made, the couple was told to hang a geometry text on their balcony so that wind could  » go through the book and choose its own problems… » In the 1950s, John Cage also developed instructions « as a means of effacing his own likes and dislikes » – and influenced many other artists, some of whom went on to create the Fluxus movement in 1962 (of which Christo, Nam June Paik, George Brecht, George Maciunas, Joseph Beuys, Robert Filliou, or Yoko Ono are some of the most renowned members). During this time, George Maciunas was assembling Fluxus boxes and Flux-Kits, small boxes containing cards and objects designed or assembled by artists of the Fluxus movement. The first one to be planned was Fluxus 1, a wooden box filled with artworks by most of Maciunas’ colleagues.

Other artists have been interested in various forms of instructional procedures since the early 1970s and instructional art has ever since been part of conceptual artists and other’s practices. Since 1993, Hans-Ulrich Obrist has developed Do It, a set of artist’s instructions that are collected online – hosted by e-flux – and published in a book. These projects based on actions, performances, gestures, are to be realised by anyone interested and capable enough to do so, in any place of their choosing and feature a long list of contemporary artists proposals.

« 

Do It stems from an open exhibition model, and exhibition in progress. Individual instructions can open empty spaces for occupation and invoke possibilities for the interpretations and rephrasing of artworks in a totally free manner…

It is important to bear in mind that

Do It is less concerned with copies, images, or reproductions of artworks, than with human interpretation. No artworks are shipped to the venues, instead everyday actions and materials serve as the starting point for the artworks to be recreated at each « performance site » according to the artists’ written instructions. Each realization of do it occurs as an activity in time and space. The essential nature of this activity is imprecise and can be located somewhere between permutation and negotiation within a field of tension described by repetition and difference… » HUO, Do It 1993 –

IMAA – INSTRUCTION MANUALS AND ACCESSORIES – A limited series of instructional contemporary art kits

is a project by [creative renegades society.], developed by espace d’art contemporain 14°N 61°W and supported by art unlimited – association pour le développement et la promotion de la création artistique contemporaine en Caraïbes and DRAC Martinique