Name in Lights

It’s not a very good photograph, is it? If you squint hard enough, though, you might be able to recognise the name “Kate Croll“. Along with myself, Kate’s name has been “up in lights” as part of a project that’s part of the Sydney Festival.

According to the associated festival blurb…

Iconic American conceptual artist John Baldessari is looking for people, who want their name in lights, but just for 15 glittering seconds. Your Name in Lights reflects the changing cult of celebrity in modern society and recalls Andy Warhol’s prediction that in the future everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame. Drawing on imagery from Broadway theatre displays and Hollywood films, this ambitious new work will involve more than 100,000 participants. Register your name and watch it appear in lights on the Australian Museum’s William Street façade.

Although I was awake at the time my name was up in lights, at about 5.40 this morning, I couldn’t be arsed getting out of bed as I’m not a “morning person”. I much preferred to be in the vicinity of Colleage Street at about 11.00 tonight, however to capture Kate’s name. Kate was able to watch online from Newcastle and seemed to capture the moment better from the web than I could with my camera phone from a few metres away. Ah well, never mind.

It was a fun, engaging project to see in real life, however as I watched the names scroll over. I even saw the name of another Kate – also from Wagga – which flashed briefly on the screen. As I watched the names flash by and attempted to get the perfect photograph lots of people stopped by to watch, ask if my name was going to be there soon, and would I like a photograph. So yeah, a fun project, with lots of engagement on many levels.