Public Notice
Public Notice, 1997, pencil on velum and aluminum push pins, 6 1/2 in x 33 in
Public Notice Drawings are pencil tracings on vellum of ads which appeared in the public notice section in the New York Times classifieds before the advent of Craigslist put an end to such things. There were very few notices of this type published in the Times, never more than a handful in a day, and like all the classifieds they were printed in the smallest type that might reasonably be considered readable. They must have been overlooked by almost everyone, appearing as they did in a paper that was not known for this kind of thing.
The public notice section was an odd repository for the smaller dramas, expressed in the form of legal announcements, missing person notices, lost item rewards, and answers to magic tricks. Of significance mostly to those who posted, and destined for the smallest possible audience, the Notices included pleas in the form of whispers and whispers searching for an audience. I attempted to provide one and it was the first place in my work that I was aware of using a process of re-amplification or re-broadcasting. I was finding messages that seemed to need help and I found a role in attempting to throw them forward. This kind of drawing can function like a lens, absorbing light and casting it out again.
