About this project
Project Summary
Many thanks to the supporters who have helped this project reach its Kickstarter goal! With one more week to go, I am hopeful that additional contributions will help to push the amount raised closer to the true cost of the Inventory installation. The large scale of this project requires that 190,000 individually numbered cards be printed from my original gunpowder drawings: this job has a hefty, estimated cost of between 8,000 and 10,000 dollars. The number of cards I can print is only limited by the amount of funding I receive. While the $5,000 Kickstarter goal allows for the printing of a partial edition of the inventory cards, with your continued help I may be able to fully fund the entire edition of 190,000. Please continue to spread the word: not only is it an inspiration to have the backing of so many individuals, but this support is significant in my push to fully fund the materials and production of my work. Thank you for all that you have contributed, and for encouraging your friends to participate!
Inventory is my first collaborative undertaking — an installation project which will premiere at the A.P.E. project space in Northampton, Massachusetts in September of 2011.
Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the U.S. has lost track of an arsenal of weapons originally issued to Iraq security forces. Included in this missing cache are 110,000 AK-47 assault rifles and 80,000 Glock 19 pistols. My purpose with this project is in part to reenact this mind-boggling loss. To amass and then distribute 190,000 objects is an attempt to equate the abstraction of wartime statistics with the tangible. For me, seeing this immense number transformed into physical form will give its scale more clarity and the negligence more gravity.
Most of these weapons are thought to be in the hands of insurgents. The contradiction of fighting while arming the enemy is ridiculous, yet predictable. The military-industrial complex, a phrase coined by President Eisenhower in reference to the close connection between armed forces, commerce, and politics, seems to blur the motivations for waging war.
In printing these cards and exhibiting them in large groups, I hope to understand and bring others to understand the scope of this carelessness. Inventory is participatory: visitors will be encouraged to take a selection of cards to keep or pass on to others, mimicking the possible exchange of the actual weapons. The face of each card will have a printed image of one weapon derived from my original gunpowder drawing, while the back holds information about the item and space to record its provenance, beginning with its original exhibition venue. Each ‘owner’ is asked to record the current location of the card, including dates acquired and relinquished, and enter the zip code of this location online so that this information might be shared. I will maintain a web page that tracks the cards as they circulate. A post office box is also listed, making it possible for some of these circulated cards to be returned and displayed in future exhibitions.
In this undertaking to enact the dissemination of these objects, the participant plays a crucial role. It will be interesting to see if, collectively, we can keep track of these inventoried cards. Of course, the collectivity of this project begins with its Kickstarter funding. As initial contributors to the production of Inventory, each donor of twenty dollars or more will receive at least two individually numbered cards to keep or distribute. How long will it take to lose all 190,000, and how far will they travel?
Inventory cards installed on the studio wall, with original gunpowder drawings
Funds
The large scale of this project requires that 190,000 individually numbered cards be printed from my original gunpowder drawings: this job has a hefty, estimated cost of between 8,000 and 10,000 dollars. The number of cards I can print is only limited by the amount of funding I receive. I have set a Kickstarter goal of $5,000, and with this funding I can begin printing a partial edition of the inventory cards. If your help exceeds this goal, I may be able to fully fund the entire edition of 190,000. Thank you for all that you can contribute, and for encouraging your friends to participate!
Rewards
Some sneak peeks of the project materials and rewards. See the column to the right for details and specifics. Rewards will be mailed as soon as the inventory cards are printed!
A draft of an inventory card for a Glock pistol (front/back):
Assorted archival prints, made in limited numbers for Kickstarter:
Gunpowder drawing of an AK-47 rifle:
Lecture/Workshop details
Because much of the material for my artwork is drawn from national and global events, I view the contributions of others as critical in extending and deepening the concepts of my practice. As an educator, I am especially open to the possibility of working with students, either in direct relation to my installation work or through an engaged discussion to situate this and other socially rooted or activist work within a particular curriculum or social surrounding. This type of dialogue and advocacy for peace is a rewarding aspect of my work and potential catalyst for change and collaboration.
If this level of reward is chosen, I would be happy to work to tailor any lecture or workshop/installation to fit the program of your institution.
Other Projects and Video
The concept for Inventory progressed from my primary focus of these past ten years —violence in the Middle East following the events of September 11th. Much of this work takes the form of large-scale gunpowder and graphite drawings based on images from the printed news. For more about this work, please visit my website, http://www.lindabondart.com/. While installation work like Inventory embarks from this point, it represents a new direction in my work: a turn towards making tangible not only the human figures of war, but the abstract statistics resulting from this violence. The video below details a recent and related installation work, a count.
Special Thanks
Special thanks to Rick Brotman and Caitlin Rubin for their help in launching this Kickstarter project.
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
90
Backers
$5,200
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on May 7, 2011.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
A postcard invitation to the A.P.E. exhibition in September and a thank-you on my website.
Pledge $20 or more Pledge $20 or more
Be part of the project: you'll receive two uniquely numbered inventory cards, a AK-47 assault rifle and Glock pistol, to own or circulate as you like, plus the previously mentioned rewards.
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
Ownership of four unique inventory cards—for both an AK-47 and a Glock 19 pistol—and an limited edition archival print (5" x 7") made especially for the Kickstarter project. Plus, you'll receive a postcard invitation to the exhibition and a website mention.
Pledge $75 or more Pledge $75 or more
A package of six assorted inventory cards to distribute as you please and a signed 8" x 10" limited edition archival print, plus an exhibition postcard and website thank-you.
Pledge $125 or more Pledge $125 or more
An original, signed drawing in gunpowder (5” x 7”) of an AK-47 or Glock 19 pistol, plus six project inventory cards, a personalized invitation to the exhibition, and website acknowledgment.
Pledge $250 or more Pledge $250 or more
Two original, signed gunpowder drawings (5” x 7”), both an AK-47 and Glock 19 pistol, plus ten inventory cards, a personalized invitation to the exhibition, and a website thank-you.
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
An original, signed drawing in gunpowder (9” x 12”) of either an AK-47 or Glock 19 pistol, plus a personal invitation to the exhibition, prominent website acknowledgment, and a stack of fifteen inventory cards for you to disperse as you please.
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
TWO original, signed gunpowder drawings (9” x 12”; both an AK-47 and Glock 19 pistol), plus a personal invitation to the exhibition and prominent website acknowledgment. You'll also receive an envelope of inventory cards in whatever number you request (up to twenty-five) so as to put the project further into your hands.
Pledge $2,350 or more Pledge $2,350 or more
I'll visit you wherever you are (limited to the U.S., please!) and hold a lecture or workshop at your school, gallery, or studio, bringing a stack of Inventory cards to distribute to those who attend. Additionally, you will receive two original gunpowder drawings (9” x 12”), a personalized exhibition postcard, and a (huge!) thank-you for you or your organization posted on my website.
Pledge $3,000 or more Pledge $3,000 or more
A custom installation of Inventory — as many cards as you can host in your space, be it an office, center, school, or other empty wall. I'll come to install the cards and hold a lecture or workshop if you'd like. Additionally, you will receive two original gunpowder drawings (9” x 12”), a personalized exhibition postcard, and an absolutely enormous thank-you for you or your organization posted on my website.
Project By
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Linda Bond is a visual artist based in the Greater Boston area. Much of her work of the past decade has responded to U.S. involvement in violent events. Using gunpowder as her primary medium, Bond seeks to transform this means of destruction into a force for creative change. For more information about Bond and her art practice, please visit the website listed below.
