Miranda July is a performer, a writer, a filmmaker, and an instigator, in various combinations and often all at once. What the heck does that mean? Miranda likes to make stuff, all kinds of stuff. Miranda was born 1974 Miranda Jennifer Grossinger and she grew up in Berkeley, California where she began her career as a teenager, writing and directing plays. At the age of seven, she wrote a trilogy called The Lost Child and started recording interviews with herself (first taping the questions and then filling in the answers). According to Miranda, she changed her last name to July because that is the month in which she is the most productive.

The beauty of Miranda’s work is that she doesn’t feel limited to a single medium. One day she will be writing a screenplay and the next she is creating sculpture. She is part of a modern movement that encourages artist to explore multiple mediums and modes of expression. Miranda is also very passionate about community engaging art projects and often invites the audience to become part of the creative process. We’ve been looking at photos from Miranda’s exhibit 11 Heavy Things which was installed in the center lawn of Union Square Park in New York in 2010. During this exhibit Miranda invited the audience to become part of the art.Wait one minute! The audience can help create art?

Yes, the audience can help create art. With Miranda at the helm art is no longer simply for looking at. Miranda believes art should engage an audience. Artists can collaborate with the viewer. Miranda had the following to say , about her 11 Heavy Things exhibit, “A work that begins as sculpture metamorphoses into countless performances, only complete when participants photograph their interac-tions and share them. Through collaboration and dissemination, the audience shifts and the viewer becomes the subject of the work.”

Assignment:Create a written “Mirandaism”. Draw, paint, or print this phrases onto a piece of paper or cardboard. Cut a hole in the board big enough for someone to fit their head through. Photograph as many people as you can with the phrase. Display all the photos together in one spot: on a wall, on the internet, or maybe even on a blog.

Things to consider:Does the written word effect how you view the participant? Does the participant change how you view the words? Do the words always feel the same, or do they change depending on who is sticking their head through the hole? Do the photos tell the same story when you view them individually? How about when you view them as a group? Who was the most important participant in this process? You, the creator of the words, or the participants in the photos?

I will never again be as young as I am in this moment