For Bridge 3, we are to create a displacement project in studio class. In groups of threes, we focused on one object or one action that the members came up with and displace the action or the object. My group have chosen y object of the mirror and decided to displace it out of its conventional locations of indoors and put it outdoor. Although in the critique session, we figured that the displacement would be more accurate if it is of a pth or a sky. More will be understood after reading this post.
The mirror has had a long-standing history of at least 6,000 years. Since the 15th century, the mirror has appeared in paintings; Edouard Manet, Henri Matisse, Lucas Furtanagel, etc. have used the mirror with a variety of means and for various symbolisms —to include the artist themselves in the paintings, to provide multiple angles for the subject matter, to show another perspective of a space and so on. The object mirror has also developed from a frank reflective surface to a capricious deceitfulness. Today, the mirror is used in multiple ways to portray similar and different meanings.
This displacement is inspired by American landartist Robert Smithson’s work, Mirror Displacement (1969). In his work, Smithson placed about ten mirrors on the earth of Yucatan. The mirrors were of squared shapes and some were partially buried under the soil, some were entirely above the soil. However, this is not the final completed artwork. Smithson then takes pictures of these dozen mirrors on the ground from a bird’s eye point of view. These photographs in print are then the artwork in exhibitions and critiques. In the photographs, one can see the sky, the trees, and the nature on the ground among the soil and insects while we normally have to look up above us in order to see. This manipulation of space through the literal use of the mirror creates a confrontation of nature.
The Mirror Path is a 25 meters long passage made of reflective film. The project took place on Greene Street by Canal street in New York City, for three hours in duration. It is located in the Soho area on a Saturday afternoon where passersby are more at ease. The mirror is a mundane object which is common to see in homes, restrooms, clothing stores, etc. It is often associated with reflection, both metaphorical and physical. While the ground is a piece of reflective mirror, one is able to look glance at the blue sky while hustling on the streets in a city with little nature.
The process of creating this displacement was a fun and straightforward one. We quickly decided of the displacement in our group of three to be derived from the object mirror, the decision was made in considerations with both practicality and logistics. However, our initial idea was to create a mirror arch that functions like a door in the middle of the sidewalk, which would create an illusion of waking into the reality while looking at “unrealistic” reflections. Due to cost and logistical reasons such as the process and safety concerns of building an actual arch for people to walk under, we changed our idea to creating a mirror path.
Although a mirror path sounds like a path made of actual mirrored glass, we did not realize that the major element someone would interpret for a mirror is its texture and rigidness. Thus, we chose a reflective film material to carry out the mirror path. This material does not fully reflect as a mirror but one is able to see a distorted reflection in it when looking at the surface.
The process of applying the displacement was quick. We did the displacement on a Saturday afternoon where the sunbeams add warmth to us and the weather was not freezing. While the reflective material we bought came in rolls, we simply lay a roll on the ground and cover the sidewalk with the material. A comment from a passerby I did receive was grumpy and negative. He told me that I would ruin the business of the block for the entire time I have this reflective material on the ground. However, I did not take him seriously: I was very clear of the intention and purpose behind my action and the displacement so I had no reason to be affect by a single man’s opinion. Plus, I have two other teammates who were there to support me and share the same ideas with me. This was a moment when I felt extremely confidence about working in groups. 
After about ten minutes, the path is finished laying out. We also bought some clear glues on our way to the location to make sure the film is able to stay on the ground for the three hours of duration. I was very pleased with the outcome of the displacement, from it’s appearance to its effect on passersby. At the beginning, we had less passersby coming to this road due to the time was a little bit early in the day I assume. The passersby avoided the mirror path, which I think might be better to be named the mirrorED path now as it is not made of real mirror, so we started to invite the public to walk on the path by saying “please walk on it,” “feel free to walk on it,” “please do walk on it,” and so on.
Our verbal invitations led to more public to walk on our path. As the time of the day gets later, we were able to get more participation on the mirrored path. Apart from walking with friends or alone, some passersby were walking their dogs on the path as the image below shows. The dog was also interacting with the reflective path, this was something unexpected. I only expected people to interact with the path and imaged all sorts of negative and positive feedbacks I would receive, it was truly interesting to watch animals reacting with the path as well.
In terms of the role I played in my group, I was the recorder/idea booster. Although I don’t exactly remember the name of the role, I was very certain of the duties that role should serve in the group. I really enjoyed it as I always have too much ideas when it comes to a project and often do not know what to pick for the final work. Therefore, working in a group with a lot of ideas not only help me narrow down my thoughts but also inspire my group members to think deeper into their won ideas. In the group work, we began with pitching our own displacement ideas and I gave many suggestions to my group members’ projects that guided us to pick from all the ideas we had.
Another responsibility of my role was to document the process of the creation and also reactions from participants of the displacement. However, I am not very good with operating cameras or playing with light so I informed my group members about the situation. It turned out that Luna is a photography major and is very good at taking pictures while Kerrie has a camera and loves to take photos when she is free. So we have decided to let Luna and Kerrie to do documentation for the displacement while I acted as a maintenance person during the displacement. My job was to make sure the material stays on the sidewalk all the time while the wind shifts its position.
Overall, the experience was very successful and i have learned a lot as a person and as an artist. I loved my role in the group and how the displacement turned out to be. If I were to do the project again, the only thing I would change to the actual displacement is to add two signs on both ends of the mirror path to make sure passersby know to walk on it. Another aspect I would change is to set the displaced object as the sky or as an action of to reflect, rather than the object of the mirror.
