The premise of my idea was simple enough: attach 12 BaronFig confidants to a piece of wood and paint a prompt atop it. At the bottom, a small tray holding the markers gave participants the final piece in the puzzle. We (Me and the founders of BaronFig) then took the piece and set it up in some of the highest trafficked areas in New York City.

Watch the video.

The Book Board Project from Baron Fig on Vimeo.

In true New York fashion, the participants were from all walks of life. From the skeptical 40 year old business man (asking the real agenda here) before storming off to a passerby Hare Krishna follower to a cab driver on break. The social experiment unfolded right before our eyes, requiring a tiny push from our end and then the participants did the work for us.

A teacher shook my hand, proud to have a physical representation of the inspiration he pours into the students he was chaperoning. I listened to the plight of a young Russian man about the hardships under Putin and disputed with an elderly gentleman whether this experiment was any good or not.

That was the purpose of this exercise, to see if anyone would open up to such a simple prompt. I wanted people to examine first their desires and then weigh it against fear. Ideally, if even one person left empowered to do the thing they wrote – was it not all worth it?

As for me, I wrote down “paint a 7 story mural”. It is a goal of mine, and I will get there some day. More importantly, this experiment was something I had been tossing around inside of my head. I was afraid of the response (Would it fail? Would it be perceived as stupid – cheesy – ridiculous?) I finally decided to shed those thoughts and release it, standing alongside the piece. I distinctly remember having my face hurt later in the day due to all of the smiling and laughing.

Long story short: It changed the way I view art. Expect new experiences and experiments from me in the future- I am on to something bigger than myself and my own style.