This campaign is closed

Super Art Activity Fun Book!

An activity book about visual art and artists in the province of Saskatchewan.

Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed

Super Art Activity Fun Book!

Super Art Activity Fun Book!

Super Art Activity Fun Book!

Super Art Activity Fun Book!

Super Art Activity Fun Book!

An activity book about visual art and artists in the province of Saskatchewan.

An activity book about visual art and artists in the province of Saskatchewan.

An activity book about visual art and artists in the province of Saskatchewan.

An activity book about visual art and artists in the province of Saskatchewan.

Harley Megan Morman
Harley Megan Morman
Harley Megan Morman
Harley Megan Morman
1 Campaign |
Saskatoon, Canada
$2,020 USD 35 backers
126% of $1,600 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

A Very Fun Book

Super Art Activity Fun Book--Saskatchewan Edition is an activity book about visual art in the province of Saskatchewan from 1950 to the present.

I'm a full-time visual artist with a background in design and an interest in the social lives of visual artists and their institutions. Super Art Activity Fun Book reenvisions classic children’s word games for an adult audience: word searches, mad libs, mazes, crossword puzzles, dot-to-dots, logic games, and more. Super Art Activity Fun Book doesn't just provide textbook facts on well-known Saskatchewan artists -- it's chock full of surprising stories and anecdotes that bring provincial art to life.


What I'll Do

With the help of the Saskatchewan Arts Board and the Banff Centre for the Arts, I've spent nearly two years researching, writing, and designing this 40-page book. Now, with your support, I'm ready to print and distribute it.

Your contribution will print an initial run of 300 copies of Super Fun Art Activity Book. The 8.5"x11"  book will be digitally printed in black and white, with a glossy full-colour cover, and saddle stitched.

Games include:

  • A Full Set of Teeth
  • 38 Kinds of Burger
  • On a Shoestring
  • Bornstein's Bros
  • Boy, Oh Buffalo Boy!

Example spread of two puzzles about Queer City Cinema and the Lieutenant Governor's Arts Awards.

Some art-speak:

By positioning the “specialist” knowledge of contemporary art in a fun context usually occupied by "basic information", Super Art Activity Fun Book challenges public assumptions about whether art’s disciplinary concerns have wider significance (as I argue they do). Super Art Activity Fun Book's cheeky, nostalgic games encourage exploration, while teaching visual literacy and art historical knowledge. At the same time, humour soothes the sting that comes from interrogating institutions, regionalisms, and artistic canon.

I made this 7"x8.5" activity book zine as part of a 2013 residency at Artspace Artist-Run Centre in Peterborough, ON.

What You'll Get

Contributors will receive a variety of FUN ART made by me. There are a lot of choices, depending on your budget and enthusiasm:

  • $10 A special thank you NOTE and a hug (or enthusiastic grinning and waving, your choice).
  • $15 A COPY of Super Art Activity Fun Book--Saskatchewan Edition. That's what you want, right? Plus a note.
  • $25 Your NAME will be included in a secret super special puzzle in the book! Plus a copy and the other stuff.
  • $35 Everything above plus a bonus selection of other paper game MULTIPLES from the past few years. This could include bingo cards, word searches & crosswords, activity placemats, or zine. These works are mostly about art, cities, and the queer archive. It's a surprise!
  • $50 A fusible plastic bead HANKIE in any colour of your choice! 5" square. Flag your favourite colour on your office door or above your bed. Plus everything above.
  • $75 Set of 3 fusible bead CAT HEAD ORNAMENTS. Each approx. 4". Wow, awesome! Plus multiples, note, and the book with your name in a puzzle.
  • $100 An 8"x10" fusible plastic bead PORTRAIT of a contemporary Saskatchewan artist. Just the head. It's a surprise! It could be anyone! Who will it be?... Plus multiples, note, and the book with your name in a puzzle.
  • $150 A portrait of a CAT (or other pet) of your choice, just for you, made from candy-coloured fusible plastic beads. Approx. 10"x14" Plus multiples, note, and the book with your name in a puzzle.
  • $300 Set of 3 8"x10" HEADS of artists. Not real heads, fusible bead ones. You can specify people, pick a theme (e.g. abstract expressionists, queer performance artists who can play the euphonium, people named "Andrew") or let me decide...if you dare! Plus multiples, note, and the book with your name in a puzzle.
  • $500 An 8"x10" NEEDLEPOINT PORTRAIT of any person of your choice. Up to 10 colours of yarn on plastic canvas, framed as a box and ready to hang. You supply the photograph. Plus multiples, note, and the book with your name in a puzzle.

Below are a few examples of what you can expect to receive, in return for your contribution:

Perler bead heads, 10" high. This is David Hoffos. (If you get a set of three, they could be all different people, or the same like these. Your choice!)

Perler bead cats. Esther & Tucker.

Needlepoint portrait, 10"x7" (slightly smaller than the one I'll sew for you). This is architect Adolf Loos.

Postage/delivery within Canada is included. Books and paper items will be mailed in April. Custom items take more time; dates of delivery to the side are estimates and subject to change based on popularity.

The Impact

Contributors rest in the happy glow of having done done something great for not just me, but hundreds of other artists with ties to Saskatchewan. Meeting my fundraising goal will mean that lots of people will have the chance to earn about Saskatchewan art.

This campaign will fund printing the book, including related production costs, taxes, shipping, and Indiegogo fees. If, with your help, I can't meet my goal, I will print fewer books at a higher cost per copy. If we exceed my $1,600 goal, additional funds will be directed toward postage and distribution (getting the book into the hands of the galleries and organizations that will sell it), then additional copies -- and maybe even a launch party!

Thank you for supporting local art!

About Me

Raised in Minnesota, I lived in Saskatoon, SK for over 15 years. I'm a full-time artist currently based in Lethbridge, Alberta, with my partner who is in graduate school. My artistic practice explores the roles of gossip, storytelling, and play in establishing the professional identities of artists and cultural workers. I've created interactive word games for solo exhibitions of at the Art Gallery of Alberta and Artspace (Peterborough, ON), presented games at public art festivals, and published crosswords in art magazines. My fibre and fusible bead portrait work has shown at artist-run centres across Canada.

Visit my website for more information about my practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

"Is this a history book?"

No! Super Art Activity Fun Book--Saskatchewan Edition is NOT intended as a comprehensive survey of art in the province. It is cheeky and highly biased toward art I personally think is interesting, contentious, or has didactic potential. I am neither a curator nor a historian (although I think curators and historians are awesome). I am a visual artist, and also an art fan.

"Is this for kids?"

Not specifically! It looks like a children's book, but it's actually aimed at adults. If you give it to your kids they will love some bits and may not quite understand others, but there is nothing in it that you'd need to hide from them. -- Unless discussion of queerness or colonialism offends you, in which case this book is probably not for you.

"But I don't know much about art..."

That's ok! With a few exceptions (the crosswords), puzzles require no knowledge of art.

"Where is Saskatchewan?"

In the middle of the Canadian prairie (north of North Dakota). It is full of wheat and uranium, and was the birthplace of medicare (publicly-funded medicine). Contrary to popular belief, it is also full of artists.

"So why do I care about Saskatchewan art?"

Don't buy into urban-centric art historical narratives which would have you believe that important contemporary art only happens in big (read: American) cities! It's not true. Art is all over.

Super Art Activity Fun Book--Saskatchewan Edition embraces the province's fantastic and terrible regionalism, and all its weird/monotonous/shocking stories.

In Super Art Activity Fun Book I give Saskatchewan a hug, then I pull down its pants.

Ways to Help without $

  • Tell your friends about Super Art Activity Fun Book--Saskatchewan Edition!
  • Help promote the project by sharing it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, or on the wall of your favourite bathroom stall.
  • If you work at a gallery with a store, message me about getting books to sell.
  • Go see local art!


Looking for more information? Check the project FAQ
Need more information
Let us know if you think this campaign contains prohibited content.

Choose your Perk

featured

Be in the book!

$25 USD
Your NAME will be included in a secret super special puzzle in the book! Plus a copy and thank you note.
Estimated Shipping
April 2014
14 out of 50 of claimed

Thank You

$10 USD
A special thank you NOTE and a hug (or enthusiastic grinning and waving, your choice).
Estimated Shipping
April 2014
0 claimed

The Book!

$15 USD
A COPY of Super Art Activity Fun Book--Saskatchewan Edition. Before anyone else has it! Plus a note.
Estimated Shipping
April 2014
11 claimed

Multiples

$35 USD
Everything above plus a bonus selection of other paper game MULTIPLES from the past few years. This could include bingo cards, word searches & crosswords, activity placemats, or zine. These works are mostly about art, cities, and the queer archive. It's a surprise!
Estimated Shipping
April 2014
2 out of 25 of claimed

Hankie

$50 USD
A fusible plastic bead HANKIE in any colour of your choice! 5" square. Flag your favourite colour on your office door or above your bed. Plus everything above.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
2 out of 25 of claimed

Cat Heads

$75 USD
Set of 3 fusible bead CAT HEAD ORNAMENTS. Each approx. 4". Wow, awesome! Plus multiples, note, and the book with your name in a puzzle.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
2 out of 15 of claimed

Portrait Surprise

$100 USD
An 8"x10" fusible plastic bead PORTRAIT of a contemporary Saskatchewan artist. Just the head. It's a surprise! It could be anyone! Who will it be?... Plus multiples, note, and the book with your name in a puzzle.
Estimated Shipping
June 2014
0 out of 10 of claimed

Cat Portrait

$150 USD
A portrait of a CAT (or other pet) of your choice, just for you, made from candy-coloured fusible plastic beads. Approx. 10"x14" Plus multiples, note, and the book with your name in a puzzle.
Estimated Shipping
June 2014
2 out of 5 of claimed

Artist's Heads

$300 USD
Set of 3 8"x10" HEADS of artists. Not real heads, fusible bead ones. You can specify people, pick a theme (e.g. abstract expressionists, queer performance artists who can play the euphonium, people named "Andrew") or let me decide...if you dare! Plus multiples, note, and the book with your name in a puzzle.
Estimated Shipping
June 2014
1 out of 3 of claimed

Needlepoint Portrait

$500 USD
An 8"x10" NEEDLEPOINT PORTRAIT of any person of your choice. Up to 10 colours of yarn on plastic canvas, framed as a box and ready to hang. You supply the photograph. Plus multiples, note, and the book with your name in a puzzle.
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
1 out of 2 of claimed
Tags for this project
Up Caret