Okay, CAA. Do Me A Favor?

[Radical Dreamer]

Here's the deal.

You're walking into a building, and you see this piece installed on a wall.



It's easier to see in person, but in case you're having trouble reading what it says:

"I've grown overfed
unconcerned and comfortably numb
Oh, someone make me afraid
of what I've become."

Underneath it, there's a bin or a box of some sort that's prompting you to donate money or canned goods or something to your local soup kitchen or homeless shelter.

What is your reaction, as realistically as you can hypothetically describe?

Go. Preferably before very very late this evening (let's call it 3AM EST); this is something of a survey for a class I have tomorrow. XD

[Mr. Rogers]

It will certainly attract attention. I think people will stop to try to read it and all.

[Ante Bellum]

Personally, I'd stop and admire the artwork, maybe even take a picture if I didn't have to move on, and if it was allowed. I'd donate if I had the money to spare, but that's unlikely. But yes, it would catch my attention.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

It would catch my attention, and I probably would throw in some change to a dollar.

But since it's kind of hard to read in a glance, I'd bet people would stop to try and figure out what it says, and then, curious about what it's for, glance down.

[Atria35]

I would donate what I could afford. I would also feel very bad that I wasn't doing more.

[ShiroiHikari]

I'd probably stop and at least take a look, maybe donate if I could.

[goldenspines]

Because of the mostly unreadable text (which is nicely written, by the way, and it's sad that I can't read it on the piece, no matter how much I look at it. The letters seem too bright on top of the mirror and unorganized), I would probably not stop to look at it too long and probably not make the connection between it and the box/bin underneath it.

As to whether I would donate anything or not, I might. But the installed piece would not change my mind if I decided to donate money/canned goods or not.

I'm not really the "standard" for majority opinion though, so the piece will probably serve its purpose well enough.




Kind of feel a bit mean now, but you did ask for realistic reactions. ._.

[ChristianKitsune]

Honestly, I'm not sure what my reaction would be...because Like Goldy said it is a tad hard to read, without your translation. (But you said it looks better in person?) Maybe if you had some sort of clarification beside it or something then people would get the idea...

Right now, I'd probably be like "ooh amazing word/wire sculpture!" And If I had change donate. but I'm not sure I'd get the words... >_<;

EDIT: I think I see why it's a bit hard to read. The words are against a Mirror which are creating a double image... perhaps if you had it against a flat colored bored it would be better? I understand the concept, I think that we would see ourselves and connect the lovely written words to ourselves. But yeah. It does make it a bit hard to read.

[FllMtl Novelist]

I can imagine seeing it when I'm out and about with my Mom. We'd both stop, look, and wonder what it said. Then after a minute of puzzlement Mom would say, "Come on, we gotta get home soon I have a roast in the oven" or something.

If we had time or I was alone and had time to figure out what it said, I'd probably continue on my merry way, maybe after dropping some change in the donation box if I had any with me.

[Davidizer13]

It definitely grabs your attention, and I'd stop for a bit to give it a look but like others have said, it's pretty hard to read - especially the second and last lines. But maybe that'll encourage people to stick around for a bit to figure out what it's saying (before realizing that they can't read it, but still...).

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I'd feel sad because it would reminds me of girls who feel marginalized by society because they're fat. =(

Edit: After giving it more thought:

Then I'd think about it. If this thing feels numb and overfed, why add stuff into it? Would I not want to break that cycle and free this object from its demise?

Who am I really giving money to? A shelter? Or this object?

And what is the most loving act I can do for this?

I dunno.

[Furen]

I have the same opinion as Goldy as I would likely not try to make sense of it but if I were to donate, it would be because of what I feel, not what a poem says.

[Lynna]

I'd Admire it, wonder what it was saying, and maybe toss a few coins in if I understood what the bin was for.

[QtheQreater]

I would think to myself, "Hm, that's an interesting way to point out American materialism. I hope nobody takes this wrong and thinks the mirror is merely calling them fat..."

Then, as the building would probably not be within a short walk of my residence, I would think about bringing some food by next time but would probably forget to do so.

[Peanut]

Honestly, I'd rage about others and eventually myself. I may donate but ultimately even if I did I probably wouldn't consider it to be enough because, after all, I've walked by people in need on the streets all the time. And even when I do donate, I'm still returning home to a roof over my head, air conditioning, heating, and other things that would be considered luxuries to the rest of the world but I take for granted. It's things like this that make me wonder whether I really have the right to be stressed out about affording Grad school in a few years when a good portion of the world is stressed about where the next meal's going to come from. It's knowing all this that makes me realize that a few dollars or a can of beans, while better then no dollars and no can of beans, really isn't enough and feeling this way is definitely not enough. If I'm not actively helping these people, not monetarily but you know, actually helping them, then the simple truth of the matter is that despite what I may feel or may donate my true attitude is one of indifference. To put it simply, I don't care. I like to think I do, but my actions tell a whole different story. In fact, I'm not sure many people do really care. Anyway, I'm sorry for the off topic rant, its just this has been something I've been wrestling with lately and it's becoming a touchy subject with me.

[Sparx00]

I'd probably throw in a couple dollars if I had any money on me.

Short sweet and to the point.

[Dante]

If it was prompting me to donate canned vegetables...

I would bellow, "I've grown over-fed? How absolutely obvious mwah ha ha. But I certainly didn't get this way by eating canned vegetables."

After all, if we ate home more often, many of us wouldn't be so overweight. When we give canned vegetables to the homeless, we're actually giving them healthier food then we feed ourselves. Tasty? No. Healthy? Yes.

It's not that we eat too much, it's that we eat too much of whats outright bad for us. Now, when I can donate my large fries, it might make more sense to me. Maybe I'd donate a McDonalds card, but only to the guy out on the street and not to a faceless container that I felt insulted me in a roundabout way.

In any event however, the piece just doesn't motivate me to act.

[Radical Dreamer]

Awesome, thanks so much for the replies, everyone! This has been seriously helpful to me! Now that you've all given your opinions, this mirror and its ridiculously-challenging-to-compose wire and vellum counterparts are all part of a typography project that I've been working on for the last month. XD We had to create a typographic installation--a piece of art meant to be installed somewhere, that is, except with some sort of type involved--and it had to bring awareness to some sort of social issue. Clearly, my subject is the poor and the homeless, and after a couple of early models and designs, I chose to use lyrics from mewithoutYou's song, "January 1979." The full lyrics are:

"I've grown overfed
unconcerned and comfortably numb
kept busy indulging in the pleasures of the wealthy
Oh, someone make me afraid of what I've become!"

Unfortunately I ran out of room (andalsotimeahhahahaha) to fit that second-to-last line, so I had to cut it. XD The project is pretty much finished now, as far as this class is concerned, but I may take some of your ideas mentioned here into consideration! I do understand that it's difficult to read in this picture (especially the hanging words at the bottom oh my goodness), but trust me, when visible from more than one camera angle, it's much more possible to read. XD

The reason I did this here is because I wasn't able to install it in the on-campus location that I had originally planned. As such, I couldn't observe people walking by, or survey them to see what they thought, so I decided to instead harness the power of the future by way of the internet and show it to you guys instead. XD And I was really intrigued by some of your replies! Thanks again for posting; you have all seriously helped me out! XD

[CrimsonRyu17]

I'd glance at it, wonder what it says but shortly go back to what I was doing because staring at that thing too long has caused my eyes to hurt.