.JPG)
Bren Bataclan is seen here with one of his whimsical works.
(Photo courtesy of Artsplosure)
RALEIGH – There will be some weird stuff happening around Raleigh this week – but it will make you smile. That, at least, is the goal.
Starting today at noon, start looking for paintings left in random spots around town. They are yours for the taking.
They are the work of Bren Bataclan, a Boston resident who started a campaign to make people happy by leaving his whimsical works of art in public places for anyone who finds them.
It’s all part of Project Smile, something Bataclan came up with in 2002. Since then, he has left his art throughout the United States, from Florida to Alaska, and in 31 foreign countries, according to his web site, www.bataclan.com.
In an interview in September with the Harvard Crimson, Bataclan explained his motivation: “I went to graduate school in the Midwest and when I came here I expected hyper-warmth and I didn’t feel it,” he said. “But then I saw people smiling at my work, and thought giving people my paintings was a way to make them smile. And then I get more smiles too.”
Bataclan will leave 15 paintins around Raleigh today, Wednesday and Thursday.
Bataclan’s paintings tend to be simple, brightly colored depictions of big-eyed, funny-faced people and animals. You can be sure they are his work because they will be marked with this message: “Everything will be all right – this painting is yours to take for free.”
You won’t be able to thank the artist – he does not wait around to see who takes them, proclaiming himself “shy.”
If the goofy paintings don’t make you smile, maybe this will: As a full-time artist, prices for his work range from $95 to $3,000, according to a story by CBS News. Bataclan does not leave his more expensive works for free, but these paintings are not throwaways.
And if you don’t find one this time around, keep in mid that Bataclan will be back to take part in Raleigh’s First Night activities and will leave more then.
Comments