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Call to Action
The Apartments, the contents of the coffee table books, and the crafts in the gift shop can all be commissioned from independent artists.
A brochure and submission form, inviting their participation, will read something like the text below.
(An example of how it could look in PDF form is here. )
Scroll down to read it, or just continue to the next page!
Starlingship Submission Instructions, page 1 of 4
Seeking Artists
to Build Apartments for Space Creatures
www.starlingship.com
We are offering:
$500 for your homemade 10-inch cube diorama
+ $100 for an additional small sculpture
Do you love miniatures?
Can you make a sculptural scene in a box?
Do you like to imagine how a variety of different alien creatures would live their everyday lives on a multicultural space station?
You are invited to become part of Starlingship: an art installation based in Los Angeles.
It's an imaginative art experience where the viewer becomes a temporal and spatial traveler: a visitor to a time-paused moment in an alien apartment building.
Go to www.starlingship.com for more information!
Details:
You're invited to design a ten-inch cube-shaped diorama, representing one of many miniature apartments in a residential space station.
A building, no taller than the average human, will hold five stories of apartments edged with walkways.
Human visitors to this space station are far larger than any of the species occupying it. The inhabitants are tiny space creatures, living in apartment cubes that measure only ten inches on each side!
The whole thing will be an immersive art experience, open to the public.
Starlingship Submission Instructions, page 2 of 4
We invite you to create your own alien apartment cube diorama out of materials of your choice.
Wood, metal, fabric, plastic, yarn, found objects, whatever!
Just follow these rules:
It must weigh less than 5 pounds (about as heavy as a 2-liter soda bottle) due to weight limits on transportation.
It must be durable enough to survive shipping, or whatever transportation you use to bring it to us, and then to survive at least 1 year being publicly displayed (and possibly transported from one place to another).
* All objects inside it must be very securely glued, wired, nailed, sewn, or otherwise fastened in place.
- If anything comes loose at any time, we're going to have to reattach it, and then your creation might not end up looking exactly how you intended.
* It must not require any connection to electric power, water or other external resources.
* It must not contain anything that could be hazardous to viewers standing nearby, or harmful to the adjacent dioramas.
* The dimensions should be as close as possible to 10" x 10" x 10."
- It may be divided into multiple rooms and even floors, depending on the size of your creatures.
- But the whole thing should fit within a 10-inch cube.
- (Some stores sell cubical storage bins that could make a good starting base.)
* One side (the front) must be fully or partially open, at least enough for visitors to see inside.
- Different lifeforms prefer different amounts of privacy.
- Your characters might be fine having a whole open wall (with or without curtains that can cover it when needed.)
- Or they may prefer just a few windows to peek through.
- Just as long as visitors can see most of the interior if they look close.
* The opposite side (the back) should be more closed off, with a door leading out onto that side's walkway.
- It may have as many windows and doors and exterior decorations as you wish--as long as their default position doesn't extend more than half an inch beyond the outside of the cube.
- The top and bottom of the cube won't be seen. The sides also won't be seen unless we place your cube on an outer wall.
* If you submit more than one cube, you may connect them through openings in the walls, floors and ceilings.
- Maybe the creatures in your two apartments are next-door neighbors who are such close friends that they built doors and windows directly between their homes.
- Or maybe your two cubes form one big two-story apartment with a ladder and firepole connecting them.
* The design must be your own original idea.
- (It can contain bits and pieces from pre-existing ideas-- for example, the creatures can be built from found objects, like commercially produced dolls or action figures-- but you should alter them enough to show your own unique creativity!)
* It should not contain anything that's likely to get parents angry at us if their kids see it.
- Yes, we know the boundaries of this are very unclear, and depend a lot on the children and the parents.
- But just try your best to avoid offense. We don't currently have plans for an adults-only section of the installation... so keep in mind that this WILL be in view of children.
Starlingship Submission Instructions, page 3 of 4
How to submit:
Send us your concept at starlingship@erikahammerschmidt.com
* Fill out the attached forms. They will ask you to include:
- at least 3 photos of any relevant crafts you have done before
- sketches of the piece you plan to create, showing as much as you can of the exterior and interior
- a physical description, listing the materials you plan to build it from, and how it will look
- a conceptual description, telling us what your creatures are like and why their home looks this way
- and your expected timeline for how long this will take.
If you are submitting a cube, you may include all the occupants fastened in place-- or you may choose to submit a special kind of sculpted creature that we'll call a "Wanderer."
- This creature lives in the apartment you designed, but goes other places too.
- In other words: You permit us to move this sculpture from place to place, positioning it on different parts of the walkway on different days, to give visitors a changing experience.
- You may point out places inside your creature's apartment where we can position it on occasion (and where we may also place other artists' Wanderers who may be visiting your creature.)
- You may also include Props that will be posed in association with your Wanderer. A musical instrument? A bike? A favorite book? What possessions are most likely to be found near the creature you've designed?
- Wanderers and Props must be durable enough to withstand daily handling and moving. They must weigh less than 8 ounces each, and be able to fit on a 5-inch-wide path under a 10-inch-high ceiling.
- By submitting a Wanderer, you agree that we may decide where to place it every day.
- If you will be making one, please send sketches and descriptions! If approved, we will pay you an extra $100 for the Wanderer. We will also pay you an extra $100 for a Prop.
* These payments are half up front and half after completion.
- You may submit as many proposals for cubes, Wanderers and Props as you like. There is a limit on how many we can accept, but we are interested in seeing every proposal you have!
If your proposal is accepted, we will immediately pay you the first $250 up front for each cube you submit (plus the first $50 for each Wanderer and each Prop).
- Then we'll pay the remaining $250 (and the remaining $50 for the Wanderer or Prop) upon receiving the completed work, if we receive it as described (or reasonably close) within the timeline you set.
* You retain all copyright to the work and the ideas within it.
- You also are invited to send us original stories about your creatures, if you wish.
- They must be written by yourself, or by a collaborator who will also sign this agreement with us.
- As with the dioramas, the creator of each story will retain copyright.
- But we may purchase limited rights to use these stories in the Starlingship.
- We may choose to make them available in books for guests to read while visiting the exhibit, and we may also sell them as printed booklets (paying the author up front and charging customers a small markup).
- If you or your friends make any other art that you wish to submit, we may also consider purchasing it from you and selling it in the associated gift shop. Prices are open to negotiation.
Starlingship Submission Instructions, page 4 of 4
If your submissions are accepted, we'll send you an agreement to sign.
- Basically, it will say that we have the right to display and photograph your art, and use photos and/or descriptions of it in promotional materials.
- You and we both agree that we will display your diorama in the exhibit for at least 1 year, possibly more.
- After 1 year, if you ever want to reclaim your piece, we will return it to you upon request.
- Also, after 1 year, if we ever decide to remove your piece from the installation to make room for new work, we will return it to you if you wish.
- If this happens and you do not want it back, we may auction it off, give it away, or destroy it, depending on your preference.
- Before doing anything with it, we will make every effort to contact you and ask what you prefer.
- If we are unable to reach you after trying for a month or more, we may have to make a decision ourselves.
But we will make a sincere effort to contact you first.
- Once we accept your submission, we'll ask you to sign an agreement to all of this.
- Terms are open to negotiation, if you have changes you want to make to the agreement before signing.
Feel free to email us at starlingship@erikahammerschmidt.com with any questions.
Starlingship Submission Form, page 1 of 4
Your Name ________________________
Email address_____________________
Phone number______________________
Attach if possible: at least 3 photos of crafts you have done before, and any relevant description of them.
Also attach if possible: any sketches or illustrations of the pieces you plan to submit.
How many dioramas are you submitting? ______
If more than one:
Will they physically connect to each other in any way?
Yes _____ No _____
If so, describe the connection here. Check all that apply.
___ Doors/windows between their walls
___ Ladders or steps from the ceiling of one cube into the floor of another
___ Other (specify)
________________________
________________________
________________________
Would it be acceptable for us to include one diorama and not the other(s), or do they need to go together?
___ Just one is okay. They can stand alone.
___ They go together. I don't want one of these accepted without the other one(s).
___ Other (specify)
________________________
________________________
________________________
We will pay $500 for each diorama we accept, $100 for a Wanderer, and $100 for a Prop (see pages 3 and 4).
If your proposal is accepted, we will immediately pay you the first $250 up front for each cube you submit (plus the first $50 for each Wanderer or Prop).
Then we'll pay the remaining $250 (and the remaining $50 for each Wanderer or Prop) upon receiving the completed work, if we receive it as described (or reasonably close) within the timeline you set.
Fill out a copy of the next page for each diorama you are submitting.
Also, feel free to send us more information about your project on additional pages.
Starlingship Submission Form, page 2 of 4
Title of your diorama ___________________
Must weigh less than 5 pounds, and must fit within a 10-inch cube.
Must be durable enough to withstand frequent handling and moving.
Dimensions in inches (length / width / height)
____ ____ ____
Weight (pounds / ounces)
___ ___
Description of what it looks like (Attach more pages if needed, including any sketches and illustrations)
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
Materials you plan to build it from (Attach as many more pages as you need)
_____________________________
_____________________________
How will the furnishings be secured in place? Check all that apply.
Nails ___ Glue ___
Wire ___ Screws ___
Thread ___ String ___
Sculpted all as one piece ___
Other (specify) _________________
Tell us what the inhabitants are like, and why their home looks this way.
(Attach more pages if needed.)
______________________________
______________________________
May we place other artists' Wanderers or Props inside your cube sometimes?
Yes __ No __
If so, where? (Attach more pages if needed)
______________________________
Anything else we should know? (Attach as many more pages as you need)
______________________________
______________________________
When do you expect you can get the finished piece to us?
Month__ Date ___ Year__
You may also submit a Wanderer. This is a sculpted creature that is NOT fastened in place in the cube, and can be moved.
If you create a Wanderer, that means:
We can move this sculpture from place to place, positioning it on different parts of the walkway on different days, to give visitors a changing experience.
Will you be submitting a Wanderer?
Yes ____ No ____
If yes, how many? ____
If more than one, is it acceptable for us to include one without including the other(s)?
Yes ___ No ___
Fill out a copy of the next page for each Wanderer you are submitting.
Starlingship Submission Form, page 3 of 4
Name of your Wanderer ______________________
Wanderers must be durable enough to withstand daily handling and moving.
They must weigh less than 8 ounces, and must be less than 10 inches tall and 5 inches wide.
You agree to let us decide where to place it every day.
Dimensions in inches (length, width, height)
____ ____ ____
Weight in ounces ____
Description of what it looks like (Attach more pages if needed, including any sketches and illustrations)
______________________
______________________
______________________
Materials you plan to build it from (Attach more pages if needed)
______________________
______________________
______________________
Describe your Wanderer's life and personality. (Attach more pages if needed.)
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
Where inside your cube can this creature be placed when at home? (Attach more pages if needed)
______________________
May we place your Wanderer inside other artists' cubes sometimes?
Yes ___ No ___
Anything else we should know? (Attach as many more pages as you need)
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
You may also include Props that will be posed in association with your Wanderer. A musical instrument?
A bike? A favorite book? What possessions are likely to be found near the creature you've designed?
Will you be submitting a Prop?
Yes ___ No ___
If yes, how many? ___
If more than one, is it acceptable for us to include one without including the other(s)?
Yes ___ No ___
Is it acceptable for us to include your Wanderer without the Prop(s)?
Yes ___ No ___
Fill out a copy of the next page for each Prop you are submitting.
Starlingship Submission Form, page 4 of 4
Name of your Prop ______________
Props must be durable enough to withstand daily handling and moving.
They must weigh less than 8 ounces, and must be less than 10 inches tall and 2 inches wide.
You agree to let us decide where to place it every day.
Dimensions in inches (length, width, height)
____ ____ ____
Weight in ounces ____
Description of what it looks like (Attach more pages if needed, including any sketches and illustrations)
________________________
________________________
________________________
Materials you plan to build it from (Attach more pages if needed)
________________________
________________________
________________________
Tell us what the prop is for, and why it's important to your Wanderer. (Attach more pages if needed.)
________________________
________________________
________________________
Where inside your cube can this Prop be placed when it is at home? (Attach more pages if needed)
________________________
________________________
________________________
May we place your Prop inside other artists' cubes sometimes?
Yes ___ No ___
Anything else we should know? (Attach as many more pages as you need)
________________________
________________________
________________________