Art in Public Realm

Wish I Were Here Pillow Installationsby Yarn Bombing Los Angeles Collaborativeas part of ARTspace 'Art in Public Realm' Symposia The Los Angeles based knit graffiti collective Yarn Bombing Los Angeles (YBLA) will participate in Un-Space Ground: a site specific visual and performance art event curated by Deborah Oliver and Ed Woodham as part of ARTspace 'Art in Public Realm' Symposia during the CAA Annual Conference. All ARTspace events are free and open to public. In this context, YBLA will produce an interactive site-specific installation project where comfortable pillows are dispersed in the hallways outside the presentation rooms and on the concrete seats outside the conventions center to add a warm texture and color to the otherwise sterile environment. The pillows would offer the conference participants a comfortable place to sit and relax whether they might be catching their breath, reflecting on the ideas they just picked up at a session or contemplating on how their qualifications are in accord with the needs of the institution they are applying for employment. These pillows would carry the inscription 'wish I were here' to allude to the escape they instigate, whether it might refer to a fantasy, aspiration, longing or feelings of exclusion. Another possible interpretation of 'wish I were here' can be being physically present but mentally or emotionally absent. The writing would also acknowledge those who are physically absent from the CAA Conference.