The Last Word by Illegal Art was the work I was inspired by for my Tiny Monuments film. In a way, the artwork is also a ‘paper monument’ since it is made out of a lot of paper (and board). It consists of a board with numerous rolled up pieces of paper, either blank (indicated by the white end being visible to viewers) or with something written on it (indicated by the red end being visible).
The description of the artwork told viewers they could write (or draw) anything they wanted, whether humorous, meaningful, or sad. Tell a joke, a love confession, or just random thoughts; it’s the ‘last word’ in that once you return it to the board and walk away, you probably will not be able to find it back since another viewer will have viewed and moved it.
Illegal Art is a collective of artists that creates public art that involves participation to encourage self-reflection and human connection. For this reason, participation in each work has been simple like writing a thought down.
I think they are interesting to look at for our public art intervention project as well. I’ve added below two more works from them. The first is Incomplete, where anyone can use chalk to finish the incomplete sentence. The second is To Do, where people can come up and write on the post-it notes their to-do list. It is important to note that while the following two are public art and accessible to all, The Last Word requires payment to view and is thus private art (at least currently).
2020 Foundations 