I stick tape on functional items in public declaring that they are art.
- Doors
- Michigan Avenue bridge
- Shopping carts
The tape says
This seal authenticates this (object) as a work of art. Once this (object) (action present), this seal will rip and its authentication is terminated. The act of this (object)’s functionality denies its existence as art as defined by this seal.
Once the door opens, once bridge lifts, once the shopping carts are separated; the seal breaks, and then they are no longer art.
The first one went on a door on Lower Wacker Drive in July 2002.
In August 2002, I sealed the Michigan Avenue Bridge. This is a giant bridge that can open up to let sailboats pass. When the seal breaks, that’s when it’s no longer art.
In 2026 I picked the project back up, 24 years later. The narrow tape became gold foil (fancy!). A date stamp is used to make it more fancy. The first new placement bound two forgotten shopping carts together in a suburban grocery store parking lot.
