Thursday, December 8, 2016

Letters to Strangers. Decorating the Lifeless Places



Write letters to strangers and leave them in unconventional places for people to find. In particular, try to leave them in places that are harsh and unwelcoming; devoid of creativity and human contact. These letters are to people who find themselves in these places and are wishing to move on from them. The nature of these letters is that they are poetic permission slips, stating however abstractly that you are allowed now to “wake up” from this dream.  They are reminders of empowerment and connectedness. Give them exactly the information they need to hear, as if you know exactly who they are on a deeply personal level. Be specific. They can be written in the voice of the unlimited self of that person, writing to them from some distant future or past, or somewhere very close at hand. Your job is to be this voice of their unlimited self, speaking to them through the note or letter, whether it is signed accordingly or not.

These notes or messages should be left in a place where they are likely to be discovered by one person only. It does not have to just be written text, it can include any manner of images or artwork. It can be drawings in sidewalk chalk in the concrete lot behind a strip mall, or drawings with messages taped up inside a broom closet or obscure stairwell. Decorate the lifeless places. Spread flower seeds in along pathways in urban wooded areas. Cultivate nature in unlikely places.




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