Personal Space Proyecto: The Facts

Today I executed my personal space project. My idea was to transform the normally mundane and useless fountain by the on-campus art museum into a wishing well. I color-coded pennies using tape and sharpies in order to somewhat document what people really wish for. As people passed through I asked them if they would like to make a wish into the fountain. I had six categories: health, wealth, school/work, love, mean thoughts, and happiness. I told everyone that they may choose as many wishes as they like, and throw their penny however they wanted.

I actually received more interaction than I had anticipated. I was nervous about the location at first, but more people pass through the art museum courtyard than I thought.  I would say out of everybody I asked, participation was at about 65% which isn't too bad. People would automatically look at my project because I used bright colors, and so they were already curious. Most people who said no either were "going to class or work" or didn't have time for some other reason. The other half of people who said no, just did not want to participate. The people that did participate usually commented that this was "fun" or "cute" and were very glad to make wishes. About four or five people really took time making their wishes, and held onto the coin for at least 30 seconds before tossing it in. I found that almost everybody was more inclined to participate once they saw someone else doing it. I had a nice discussion with a few ladies who were glad that the fountain was being used in a unique way, and they wanted me to keep the pennies in there because they added so much color to it.

I was very happy with the public response to my project. I was glad to see that most people enjoyed making wishes and hope that it improved the rest of their day. People are willing to participate if you just ask them. Now I plan on counting the pennies that were thrown in so that I can graph what people wish for the most. So the project had a dual function: the fountain was put to use and created a work of art in itself and the colors/categories provide research on what people think is important. It is funny how the fate of very important issues such as happiness or love can be left up to tossing a coin into an empty fountain. I think it is a nice juxtaposition.