How to create art by ruining it in nine easy steps

A sequence revealing my insight into the nature of art.

Step one: Find a sculpture at Princeton University that looks like a Henry Moore, though you can't be entirely sure about it. Be entirely too lazy to look around for a placard. Okay, so I see you've got that. Good.



Step two: Do not be intimidated by the fact that Moore is one of the two greatest sculptors of the 20th century. No, completely disregard the artist's intent. By no means try to take a picture of the sculpture as others see it--or as the artist would have you see it--but peer into it, finding its flaws and weaknesses, its disrepair. Or reflections of eyeballs. Then when you find the beautiful disrepair, take a photo of just these parts, making sure that nothing of the original meaning of the sculpture remains. This step is essential, and you see the result here.



Step three: Now that you've ruined the image of the sculpture, begin to ruin your own image by cropping it further. This is not essential, but it is quite fun. Make sure to overcrop, leaving most of the good stuff out. Make sure you save your bad editing so that it's impossible to go back and fix it. I'd give myself a "D-" for this job, as seen below. Just not enough cropping.



Step four: Okay, now look for weird things in the photo. Do you vaguely see a face? Sure you do. Good, you're on to something. Do what you need to amplify the faceness of the face by digitally manipulating it. For example, here you probably want to punch up the colors (punch out the face?) and convert the photo into its negative. And what you have is a creepy photo of a face.

That only you will see.

Much to your frustration.



Step five: do all that you can to convince other that, drat it all, there IS a face in there. Why can't you see it??!!

Step six: Discourage others from treating your own photos (as seen above) in the manner that you treated Moores' art.

Step seven: Pretend not to be hurt when they promise that they wouldn't have thought to have done that and you actually do believe them.

Step eight: Make sure you don't fall asleep but instead worry why you can't take photos worthy of being destroyed by others.

Step nine: After a lousy night of sleep, you're nice and full of angst--which is perfect conditions for starting it all over with step one.