What is an Obos?
Greetings:
I am not an artist, but I do like to create things. For some reason when my friend Alyson Stanfield (http://www.artbizcoach.com/) introduced me to the concept of an Obos. I was fascinated. She later told me about the Found Art Project! (http://www.found-art.com/) The idea of making Obos and leaving them behind for people to find intrigued me even more.
First of all what the heck is an Obos? The idea was introduced to me in an e-zine Alyson shared with me, "The Painters Key" written by Robert Genn. http://www.painterskeys.com/ According to Genn, "An obos is a Japanese term for a pile of rocks, often only three,
one on top of another. The obos merely says, "I was here." Being an unusual configuration, it is obviously from the hand of man. Obos is a destination, a sanctuary, a shrine and a focal point
that reminds us that we work with our hands. We are builders and what we build is sacred. Obos may appear inconsequential and be unnoticed by casual passersby. It's a private tribute to
something higher, something we might be striving for but find difficult to attain. " In my research I found a great Blog that talks about this article from Genn's ezine and has a pretty
amazing picture of an Obos found out in nature. http://gracefulpresence.blogspot.com/2006/12/obos.html
Okay so we have an idea of what an Obos is, but what the heck is found art?
Found Art is a website of people who are dedicated to healing the world through art. "Found Art is a community of members who believe creative sharing is a way to share souls. Found Art has been inspired by the idea of Random Acts of Kindness." Basically anyone can join in on the fun. You create art, it can be anything, and you leave it in places where others will find it. You identify it as Found Art so the person knows that they can take it. I have put the website on my Obos as well so people can find out more about joining the project.
It really is just something to do, combines what I think is two great ideas, and gives me a way to express my creative side.
Yep the pictures along the side are of some of the Obos I made. I created 10 in all, have
distributed about 4 of them.
Just another way to have a little fun while I am here.
Live the Day
Rachelle
I am not an artist, but I do like to create things. For some reason when my friend Alyson Stanfield (http://www.artbizcoach.com/) introduced me to the concept of an Obos. I was fascinated. She later told me about the Found Art Project! (http://www.found-art.com/) The idea of making Obos and leaving them behind for people to find intrigued me even more.
First of all what the heck is an Obos? The idea was introduced to me in an e-zine Alyson shared with me, "The Painters Key" written by Robert Genn. http://www.painterskeys.com/ According to Genn, "An obos is a Japanese term for a pile of rocks, often only three,
one on top of another. The obos merely says, "I was here." Being an unusual configuration, it is obviously from the hand of man. Obos is a destination, a sanctuary, a shrine and a focal point
that reminds us that we work with our hands. We are builders and what we build is sacred. Obos may appear inconsequential and be unnoticed by casual passersby. It's a private tribute to
something higher, something we might be striving for but find difficult to attain. " In my research I found a great Blog that talks about this article from Genn's ezine and has a pretty
amazing picture of an Obos found out in nature. http://gracefulpresence.blogspot.com/2006/12/obos.htmlOkay so we have an idea of what an Obos is, but what the heck is found art?
Found Art is a website of people who are dedicated to healing the world through art. "Found Art is a community of members who believe creative sharing is a way to share souls. Found Art has been inspired by the idea of Random Acts of Kindness." Basically anyone can join in on the fun. You create art, it can be anything, and you leave it in places where others will find it. You identify it as Found Art so the person knows that they can take it. I have put the website on my Obos as well so people can find out more about joining the project.
It really is just something to do, combines what I think is two great ideas, and gives me a way to express my creative side.
Yep the pictures along the side are of some of the Obos I made. I created 10 in all, have
distributed about 4 of them.Just another way to have a little fun while I am here.
Live the Day
Rachelle
posted by Coach Lee @ 9:21 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
What a cool idea!
Somewhat related to obos are the rock cairns used to mark trails. I wrote a short post about these piles of rocks in the grand canyon here: http://blog.lisacall.com/2006/08/this-way.html
One of my readers left a comment about the origins of these in north america:
The genesis of these rock cairns are from the far north of North America in the Canadian tundra. They are actually called inukshuks. The ingenious Inuit people who survived in an amazingly hostile environment created these as land marks. The tundra seems to be a featurless landscape to the displaced southeners but not to the older inuit. They were a nomatic people who understood that snow and blizzards changed the landscapes quickly and could lead to death. So they created Inukshuks to guide them to hunting grounds, and fishing places.
Lisa:
I had heard of cairns but not inukshuks. I am sure they are all related. I wonder how it became common knowledge that the inukshuks were guides. It isn't like someone could make a post on their blog and tell everyone. :-) Isn't is amazing how people figure things out.
So did you think of something to make and leave behind as Found Art. I am afraid I am not doing too well getting my obos distributed. I need to work on that.
Live the Day
Rachelle
Rachelle, I'm dying to know where the obos have been left. Are you going to share? Did you leave them in plain sight? Hide them? Leave a note with them? Are you afraid at all about them being mistaken for something else? Artists have to learn to relinquish control of interpretation. It's all in the hands of the viewers/recipients. :)
Alyson:
Thank you so much for asking. I have left them in a bathroom stall in Cherry Creek Mall, several ledges outside of Panera Restaurants and in my favorite gardens. I leave them in plain sight, and yes I am a tad concerned they will be mistaken for something else, which is why I don't leave them in stores or where people may think they are something to buy. I might be flattering myself here but I don't want people to get confused. I have plainly marked them as Found Art with the Found Art website. And I wrote Enjoy on each one. I hope that the people that find them enjoy them or pass them on to someone that will. I have four more to set free. Thanks so much for turning me on to the concept, both the Obos and the Found Art. What fun.
Rachelle
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