Jealous Lover 1 by Heather Benjamin. Photo by Luna Park.
Well, here it is: ad takeover #52 of 52 comes from Heather Benjamin. We have a few more surprises coming your way soon, but we made it to the end of the year. Art in Ad Places started as a daydream, and it's ended up taking over our lives for a little while (in a good way). The marathon is over, which is a nice feeling, but we'll have more news soon on where we go from here.
One last time, here's what this week's artist, Heather Benjamin, has to say about the importance of public art, and how we move through the world:
“I think it’s easy to experience a sort of tunnel vision when you’re running around in the city, it can be a kind of natural response to all the over-stimulation. But that can cause you to miss things going on around you that could be fresh opportunities for critical thinking or raw emotional reactions. Those could be moments where you might begin to think about something in a different way, or feel inspired, and at a basic level have a visual experience really resonate with you in some way. Public art is one of those things that can jolt you right out of your comfort zone and turn everything upside down for a few minutes, while you try take in and wrestle with something you weren’t expecting to see. And I think having that experience on a regular basis is an important part of feeling connected to the humans around you and their lives and emotions and experiences, how you can relate to them. That’s why I’m psyched on the Art in Ad Places project and excited to be a part of it, it’s actively creating spaces in the city for those moments to happen. We need more of those opportunities and less visual stimuli that are just meant to force us into more consumerism.”
Jealous Lover 1 by Heather Benjamin. Photo by Luna Park.