PROPOSAL for Gap, Inc. It is evident that with the advent of digital technologies and the increasing virtualization of the physical environment, the notion of what a building façade or structure might be is changing. For street artists like myself, this fact is a welcome catalyst for art making. No longer do I have to consider freeway overpasses, corner mart brick walls, street signs, sidewalks, or dumpsters as the exclusive locations for my interventions and artworks. Quietly, over the past eight years, I’ve viewed physical sites such as Barnes and Noble, Target, J.Crew, Goodwill, and The Gap, as well as the products they contain, as the new surfaces to communicate on top of. Like the subway car before them, these sites and the products contained within are vehicles/containers that have the potential to reach people over great distances… whether physical or intellectual… stylistic or economic. With these ideas in mind, I’d like to propose a collaboration with The Gap brand. The idea is fairly straight ahead – I would like to alter a select number of garments, handbags, shoes, and accessories located inside your Austin, TX stores, making these items unique, one-of-a kind artworks that can be purchased for no more than the retail price of the item as set by The Gap. All I ask for is permission to alter Gap brand items in the store and document and share on my social media feed, some amount of official promotion by Gap, Inc. (the least costly means to avoid the $$ roadblock… maybe strictly through social media and email?), and a nominal artist’s fee – shall we say the average starting hourly wage for a floor employee at a Gap store in Austin for as many hours that we agree on? The benefit for me as an artist is plain – I gain legitimacy in the marketplace by being associated with a successful and powerful brand. For Gap Inc., the gain must be far more dubious. At the risk of overestimating, I believe that by aligning with an artist on such a project, The Gap appears forward thinking to their consumers at large and to the specific demographic that values contemporary art and contemporary art practices, The Gap continues to prove itself a great supporter of art and artists.
PROPOSAL FOR J.CREW via phone and gmail Jan 22, 2014 Hi Lindsey, Thanks for the brief call tonight. As promised, here is some follow-up information regarding the proposed performance art project entitled JCrew Narrative. For this project, Sean appropriates images from the #jcrew community on Instagram and then reinserts them into the #jcrew Instagram community with an imagined inner monologue written in the image comment field. To see examples of the work, please visit http://statigr.am/tag/jcrewnarrative. Please be sure to click on the images in order to read the various narratives. The ideal execution would involve people reading the narratives from inside the dressing rooms (details to be determined, but rest assured all performers would be fully clothed – ha!). For additional artist information, feel free to peruse: http://www.seanripple.net http://continentcontinent.cc/blog/2011/02/sean-ripple/ http://www.tribeza.com/magazine_content/makers (scroll to “art”) http://www.fluentcollab.org/mbg/index.php/artistsspace/index/168 http://www.artlies.org/article.php?id=1979&issue=67&s= http://glasstire.com/2010/01/13/artificial-scarcity-by-sean-ripple-at-mackey-gallery/ Best, Sean From: Lindsey Dugan Date: Thu, Jan 23, 2014 at 2:31 PM Subject: Re: Performance Art: JCrew Narrative Hi Thank you for your inquiry. While we are looking to explore new events at J.Crew, I’m not sure this is the right fit for us. Any event we host in store should ultimately drive sales for the store, and I don’t see how this would benefit our business. I wish you guys luck in exploring these ideas and please let me know if I can assist further in any way. Thank you for your time. best, Lindsey Lindsey Dugan Associate Store Manager J.Crew @ Domain 11501 Century Oaks Terrace Austin, TX 78758
A DARK JUNGLE FULL OF DIAMONDS (PROPOSAL SENT TO HEYWOOD HOTEL, QUI, CONTIGO, FEATHERS BOUTIQUE, AND ARRO)
OF THE BUSINESSES LISTED, CONTIGO HIRED ME FOR AN EVENING AND HEYWOOD HOTEL WAS INTERESTED IN HIRING ME, BUT I DECIDED THAT WE WEREN’T A GREAT MATCH SO I CEASED PURSUING THE PROJECT WITH THEM. EXCERPT OF PROPOSAL TEXT BELOW: