Improbable Monument: The Velloza Wall

Improbable Monument Proposal “The Velloza Wall”
What I propose is a monument to acquired inspiration. The monument would be a V shaped wall, made entirely of drawings inspired by others. The drawings would be inserted into on 15x15x1 inch cardboards and would range in size from post it notes to 8 ½ by 11 pieces of paper. The tower would be over-laid like a brick structure, so that drawings could be taken and replaced like a jenga tower. The monument would be participatory.

On May 2, 2009, my friend Jake Velloza was killed in Iraq. Through most of high school, Jake and I would play a game where he came up with something improbable or strange and ask me to draw it. I usually had to finish the drawing before the end of a class or the end of a bus ride. In 4 years of high school, I may have done some 50 or so drawings. The drawings were among my strangest, and contributed to how I developed as an artist. After he left for his first tour, I continued to play the game, but with kids under my supervision at the local summer camp. I have since seen kids from those groups participate in those games on their own. I came up with an idea for this project as a result of the need for emotional closure due to the passing of my friend.

• The wall would be 6 feet and an inch tall, Jake’s height. The wall would contain 28,344 Inch height mat board cards; roughly equivalent to the number of hours that Jake was enlisted as a member of the special ops. That would be about 388 columns, a circumference of 11,670 inches, a V shaped wall with exterior sides 2910x2925x15x15 inches and interior sides 2895x2910 inches. That’s 531,075 square feet. The cardboards would be 15x15x1, and be stacked in an overlapping grid much like brickwork. Each card would have an envelope hollow with a lid and handle at each end.
• The monument itself would serve as a sort of avatar for spontaneous artwork. It would also serve to commemorate Jake Velloza, whose idea it was originally to create spontaneous non sequitur art.
• Its importance would be to share the experience of gleaning inspiration from an outside source. The name Velloza would also become synonymous with this kind of art; over time loosing it’s origin. It would be an interactive monument, where participants could take something away and leave something behind.
• It would be located somewhere between Point Reyes, CA and Tomales, CA, within sight of Tomales Bay on the Marshall side, probably near Millerton Point. This was where most of this art was done originally.
• The installation would be on the side of the hill under a roof structure. It would be an interior space with fiberglass walls that pointed to the bay. The walls would be lined with tables and chain-ballpoint pens. Participants/visitors would be encouraged to remove one of the cards from anywhere they liked. Each panel would have a drawing and a score for a new drawing. These scores would be simple and open to interpretation. The participant would then fulfill the score to the best of their ability, and replace the panel in the wall in an empty spot, with their drawing and a new score of their own design, taking the previous drawing and score with them. They would be encouraged to finish their drawing within the hour, as each panel represents an hour of Jake’s service before his death.
• This monument would be improbable because it would cost in and around 2 million dollars, take roughly 3 years to build, and be extremely difficult to maintain.

First 3 months:

Geological surveys to discover the best placement of the monument in conjunction with the architects would begin. This time would also belong to the Artistic Director, who would need to get on the phone with art schools and community centers to organize their participation in the generation of the 28,344 drawings and scores for the final piece.

Second 3 months:

Landscaping begins with a staff of around 30. Architects are finishing drafts and the interior is fully fledged on paper. The Artistic Director is meeting with the Technical Advisor concerning the production of the 15x15x1 inch panels to be used in the wall. This would involve talks with the major distributors of plastic-ware in California about who would get the contract.

By end of first year:

First 2,000 drawings and scores are submitted for approval, foundation is set and tarped.
Middle of second year:

Frame is being set in as Geologists assist in earthquake-proofing the building. Internet campaign has brought in and additional 4,000 drawings to the local 2,000, making 8,000 total. Production of the plastic cards and fiberglass walls has a date set in the next year.

End of second year:

Roof structure is in place and floor is being laid down. Construction of the fiberglass walls is underway. Total accumulated drawing/scores reaches 16,000.

Middle of third year:

Building is completely finished. Exterior is being stained with Wood oils to prevent toxic runoff. Plastic cards are halfway through production and the wall is being matched up with collected drawing scores, which number around 24,000.

End of third year:

Wall is built and monument is open to the public. A staff of 12 handles the café, gift store, and bathrooms located at the apex of the V, as well as the parking lot. Two or three staff members moderate a website where the daily occurrences at the monument are logged, such as celebrity visits and particularly funny or interesting excerpts.