Wish : Thesis
 

 

In the original proposal for wish, the first step after creating the work was to install it somewhere. I chose to put it in the second floor lobby of the Gorgas library at UA, in front of the circulation desk.

You know what the funny thing about a thousand cranes folded from four inch square bits of paper is? They don't take up nearly as much space as you think they ought to, especially if they're on strings. There actually are a thousand cranes in this installation, believe it or not.

 

  
  Now, to be honest, before I managed to settle down and get the cranes set up so they could hang from the ceiling, I went through a couple of really weird late night moments. Like this one, in which they landed on a styrofoam head.
 
 
Once that was out of my system, I got these solid strings of cranes hung from the library ceiling. (Yes, in fact, I chose my space based on where the ceiling was low enough that I might actually be able to reach it without major equipment.)  
 
 
 
 
  The display case was kind of a last-minute whim. I really liked the mirror in the bottom, for the doubling of reflection, and I needed somewhere to put the books I'd made to go with everything.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I still can't get over how small it looks. On the other hand, I like the idea that it's this tiny spot of completely random color and stuff in the middle of the floor.
 
 
 
 
There's something to be said for the aesthetics of nineteenth century machines, I must admit. This is an Acorn handpress, and if I was a smarter person, I would have printed on this one instead of the Washington.  

 

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