This may be broad, but the first thought that came to my mind while reading Slow Design was Graffiti. I understand it is far away from using any type of technology minus sharing it on sites like Facebook, but graffiti is the experience that can pass you by- it can reveal spaces itself, call attention to it. It can also change its location in the way it is perceived, if it is environmental or political, it can cause the audience to reflect, while other artists can comment by adding their own piece to interact with the original. It begs for participation, whether that be adding to it or covering it up. And it is forever evolving due to the constant participation. There is a bridge near my house, the underneath is covered in graffiti, constantly changing. Of course, graffiti is usually frowned upon, but the amount of interaction it begs is good enough for me to mention it. As for me, it hits every point of a slow design.

Another Artwork (less broad this time) is 440hz by United Visual Artists in 2016. It’s a space the viewer walks into the space to activate it, and their movements generate sounds and lights. This space is to distort reality with your senses, and over time, sound is built up with people as the instruments. This art literally requires engagement and participation, forces reflection due to the audience making the sound themselves, and it is constantly evolving with the different movements building up new sequences of tones and hums. This artwork forces perspectives to shift, to make the viewer aware of their place in the piece. The piece us flexible, and never the same.

The first idea to come to me was graffiti. In my desire to not do anything too illegal, I would theoretically plan a community mural. A way to legally paint on the side of a building. I’m inspired largely by the people who surround me, and as I am not too tech savvy, I prefer to stick to 2D traditional messy art forms such as paint. I would begin by first finding a canvas, acquiring permission, then sending out an open invitation to join me in creating the art. Then I would get to work.

I would first begin by painting a portrait, as that’s my go to. I’d probably begin with a few, as I would want to paint a vague representation of the community. The idea I’m going for is similar to graffiti and tagging, only focused on the subject and less illegal. This idea stems on a story I once read about a building where people could pay to go in and paint on the walls for hours on end, although I cannot find where I read this, the idea has stuck. With this, I would get the community to engage and reflect on their own lives, as they would represent themselves in the painting. My invitation begs participation, and my goal with the theoretical mural is to reveal the community for what it is and who it contains, beauty people miss. I want to reflect and create an abstract idea of what the community is.