Meet in the Middle

For this project, Rachel and I's meeting spot was right in the middle of the street in Montecito. There was an abandoned looking park along a stretch of road that people zoomed by, not paying much attention to what was around them. Rachel and I decided to install some stop signs to slow people down, calling attention to a normally average stretch of road. When one is driving, they often get lost in thought, stress, etc. We wanted to let these signs be reminders of what it means to stop-- not just in the literal, driving sense, but also in their lives. When one is stopping a car, they ease up on the gas, stop, and then release the break. We wanted to break down these three steps into simple word commands-- as signs tell us what to do-- but wanted these words to be more thought provoking than simply "slow down", etc. We decided on EASE, STILL, and RELEASE. Yes, these are the three motions involved in stopping a car, but they also relate to how we can slow down in our own lives. We ease up on the stress or distractions, allow ourselves to sit in stillness for a few moments, and then we can release whatever thoughts or worries are heavy on us. We wanted to make these look pretty similar to stop signs, so that they would be almost unnoticed at first. We first tried installing them on pole, but realized that by the looks of everyone driving very fast, by craning their necks, it could be a traffic hazard. We then decided to put them on one pole, so it looked less like literal stop signs that may cause some to literally stop in the middle of the road. We stuck around for about half an hour to see how this did. Nobody stopped, but we did get some funny looks and some smiles. Everyone did look, but we aren't sure if they got the meaning. We wanted to leave them installed but didn't want something to happen to the poles we borrowed (thanks Nathan!) so we decided to line them up along the wall for the rest of the day. I will be uninstalling them today, and I hope they are still there! I personally had a good time doing this. Creating realistic looking signs was fun and I think it made me think more about signs and what they tell us to do, and how we can think deeper into the everyday signals we get from the world.

Ease (Close up)

Still (Close Up)

Release (Close up)

Our three on one pole trial

Final Installation