Cost-Benefit Analysis Art Project.

This semester, I'm taking a class with Terry Tempest Williams, which I've talked about before. Part of the class requires that I create some kind of art. I had initially thought of doing something on my own, since I really detest group projects in general. However, when my classmate, Ben, asked if anyone wanted to participate in his idea, I took the bait. Since I jumped on the band wagon, I have had so much fun taking our art project around to take pictures.

The general idea of the project is the fact that many people try to put a dollar amount on natural places. Like Ben, and others in my group, I think that's ridiculous. So, we created this art project, which is a monetary representation of Earth, and we have been taking it to relevant places to photograph it.

Today, I went with Ben and Ross to take photos around Salt Lake City. Below are some of my favorites from our adventure. This first photo was (obviously) taken at the State Capitol.


This one, too, was taken at the State Capitol.


We then headed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints downtown temple. Next to the Reflection Pond, we took more pictures. A group of people stopped and asked us what we were doing. They asked to take a picture of our project, and we obliged. They kept wanting to know how much time it took to create it. "A few weeks," Ross said.




Two weeks ago, we went to the Pillars of the Community with our class with Terry. Those of us in our group thought that it was a perfect place to go with our project.


Then, we went to Walmart. Walmart is totally the epitome of consumerism in the United States, so it was a logical location to photograph our project.


After our adventure, I elected myself to take our project home. I plan to keep it until Saturday, when we'll take it to our final class with Terry to show our classmates. Coral was so interested and curious about it. I let her stand on it, and she kept saying, "art...art...money!", and she had a great time standing, sitting, and dancing on it.


I love this photo, especially because of her expression...it's like she is unsure or is contemplating something; that expression embodies the meaning of our art project: what does it mean to put a dollar amount on the natural world?