In 2008, upset by the news that an economic crisis was brewing, I made a Philip Guston inspired painting entitled The Collapse of Bear Stearns Sank My Battleship. I left the painting on the street (South Congress Ave) with a note instructing the public that it was free for the taking. My one request was that if you took the painting, you email me.

Of course, I took a risk distributing my work in this fashion… really, no one would be obligated to reach out to me about picking up the painting, making for the very likely possibility that I would never know what happened to the work once it vanished from the street.

Fortunately, the individual that took the painting emailed me via flickr (flickr name asmysunrise – now animoulx) to let me know that she saw the painting hanging out on the street and wondered if she could just take it… she said her boyfriend pointed out the note I left indicating that she could. If I remember the email correctly, she mentioned that she almost leapt with joy upon learning that she could take the painting home. Two months after giving it away, asmysunrise moved to New York City and my painting made the trip… I’m thankful that the work has a home and that it hasn’t yet been discarded.

asmysunrise and I have become flickr friends, which is to say we are internet acquaintances. From time to time, I check in on her stream to see if the painting makes an appearance.

Today I began thinking that in a rather unintentional way, my painting is similar to artwork one might find on the side of a train car… asmysunrise’s life in photographs being the moving train.