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« ruin me
 
A physical representation of burnout, the artwork was only finished once it was destroyed by visitors on the opening night
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listen to soundscape, 1 hour

 


 observations
A representation of all 7 billion people in the world. Paintings of land, sea and sky. Would people be willing to destroy them if asked? The answer turned out to be yes.

details
A collaboration with sound artist Scott Weiser, who composed the score for the evening.
July 1, 2011
Fivepoints Arthouse, Soma, San Francisco

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Keith Bowers • July 7, 2011
Photos and Video from Ruin Me, Where Patrons Made an Exhibit Look Like a Crime Scene
"Catharsis." That's one way to look at this exhibit. The opening for Erin Gallup and Scott Weiser's "Ruin Me" at Fivepoints Arthouse on Friday was exactly what it sounds like. Gallup prepared four walls of artwork and suspended implements of destruction from the ceiling, including a hammer, a mitre saw, a corkscrew, a knife, and numerous heavy ink pens. Weiser provided the electronic score and set up a mixing board through which the music could be abruptly and randomly rearranged by anyone who cared to do so.

"Ruin Me" was a perfect setup for catharsis. Just that day, Gallup had resigned from a corporate tech job in Sunnyvale that she described as soul-sucking. Her most recent exhibits had left her exhausted and disillusioned. Gallup put the artwork up for sale -- pricing it at less than what she'd paid for the material. It had all the makings of a soul-destroying ritual, in which one would expect Gallup and Weiser to scream, orchestrate the destruction, shed tears, and fall to the floor, beating it like a jilted lover pounding on a locked door.

Yet Gallup was calm, level-headed, disciplined, pleasant. Her cool demeanor was not creepy or eerie, which sort of made it more creepy and eerie. Weiser was unassuming to the point that if you didn't know he was the sound artist, you wouldn't have suspected him. Our guess? They let the show's visitors channel their rage and frustration. And, God almighty, those visitors had their way with this exhibit. Keep reading to see what it looked like. MORE...

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Keith Bowers • June 30, 2011
'Ruin Me' Is an Art Exhibit that Dares You to Wreck It -- Er, Alter It
This exhibit is a wreck. Which is to say, you, the visitors, get to wreck works of art. Or, to use a term chosen by the artists, "alter" them. And if you want to keep what you've wrecked -- er, altered -- you can buy it. Or someone else can. The artists also wreck (not alter) some things, channeling collective rage and frustration in doing so. It's called "Ruin Me," and it happens Friday night at Fivepoints Arthouse.

The works to be altered are by Erin Gallup -- and you can see in the video clip above that she's done numerous experimental shows in the past where viewers help create the exhibit. This time around, her works include framed photos, prints, and paintings. Various implements -- scissors, markers, fabric cutters, and hammers -- are suspended from the ceiling near each work.

Gallup and sound artist Scott Weiser collaborate on a performance that has them shredding "artifacts" from previous exhibitions. They say they aim to embody the frustration of many people who are "out of work and out of options." MORE...