In January of 2014, PBS Digital Studios began an online video series called “The Art Assignment.” In it, museum curator Sarah Urist Green takes the audience to visit a different contemporary artist each week. After a brief interview about their art and what inspires them, the artist then gives the viewer an assignment. This opens up the conversation to the online community, as viewers around the world respond by completing the assignment and posting their work to the Assignment’s social media pages.

Geeksdanz began responding to the Art Assignment right away, presenting their responses either as collaborations with the company or as solos from the artistic director. We have been featured in many of the Assignment’s official Highlights videos, and will continue to respond to the Assignment as long as the show stays on the air.

Below you will find our Art Assignment Responses, starting with the most recent.

#32: Embarrassing Object – “Drop the Beat”

From the choreographer:

I am legitimately embarrassed to be posting this – which, to be fair, was the assignment.

A lot of times, when people learn I’m a dancer/choreographer, they assume that I’d be the one out on the dance floor at every party. But in reality, I never liked dancing at parties, largely because I didn’t have any “moves” to do and felt like I didn’t know what to do with myself. Since working with improv I’ve gotten a little less weirded out by that, but I still often feel like I don’t really know what to do in a ‘normal’ dance situation.

This is my guilty pleasure, and rest assured I WILL instantly stop what I’m doing if someone else enters the room.

#30: Boundaries – “Halfway”

From the choreographer:

A little semi-improvised number to transform the boundary between the stairs and the hallway for the “Boundaries” assignment.

This was a trippy one to perform – something just felt so ‘wrong’ about putting myself on the other side of the banister. I kept wanting to go further over it, but worrying that I’d panic and fall off. If I had had some kind of harness, though, I definitely would have done it. That area up by the light fixture seemed so much like ‘dead’ space that had never really been inhabited; I would have loved to just suspend myself up there and really spend some time in it. As it was, though, I settled for drawing attention to the two sides of the banister, and the fact that one of them was inhabited while the other was not.

#29: Make a Thing – The Relics

From the artist:

So I got super excited to do last week’s Art Assignment when I realized that I’ve been doing exactly this for years! The assignment is to take something from the virtual world and make it physical, and that’s exactly what the core line of pieces in my jewelry shop is!

I make sterling silver jewelry in my spare time, and a few years ago I was going to an anime convention with some friends. I wanted to get a table to sell my jewelry, the only catch was, there needed to be something connecting my jewelry to anime or video games or the culture of the con to have it make sense. So I hit upon the idea for The Relic Shoppe.

In the video game Final Fantasy VI, one of the equipment types is “Relics.” You go to a Relic Shoppe and purchase your Relics, which are equipped in their own slot alongside weapons, armor, etc. The Relics all have names like ‘earrings’ or ‘pendant’ that suggest jewelry, and they all have one-sentence descriptions of the effect they bestow on the wearer when worn, but there’s no visual representation of them. I decided to take those names and descriptions and design jewelry pieces around them, to make those virtual equipment lists into actual physical jewelry – exactly the Assignment prompt!

The Relic Shoppe has expanded in recent years to include much more than just the Relics, but the heart and soul of my shop has always been these 25 pieces. Here’s a link to the full Relics list on my Etsy shop, if you’d like to see more.

~Ellen

#28: The Muster – Education!

From the artist:

My Motto: I fight for education and learning new things!

My Uniform: So I’ve been dragging my feet on doing this one, primarily because I couldn’t think of a good way to do my uniform. After reading a response that chose not to include a picture but just describe it, I realized the problem: I don’t believe that education HAS a uniform at all. I made a conscious choice when I started tutoring to come to lessons in casual clothing, jeans and T-shirts, the things I usually wear. I don’t get dressed up for lessons because I want to communicate that you don’t need to wear a suit and heels in order to do math. You can learn something exactly as you are; all you need is your brain and your desire to learn. So my uniform is what I happened to be wearing today, plus all of my tutoring ‘props’:

• My appointment book with my week’s lesson schedule and an assortment of business cards in it
• My tutoring binder with contact info and planning notes for my current and past students
• My iPad in its case/stand for finding math worksheets online, reading classics for English Lit students, and watching Crash Course videos
• My notepad and pencil for demonstrating and writing down notes as we work
• A tasty beverage

My Declaration: Everyone has the ability to learn new things, and everyone should be given the chance to learn and improve. Learning broadens your horizons and gives you the ability to think critically about life and your place in it. It allows you to find fuel from the world to further your personal passions, and funnel those passions back into the world in response.

Learning allows you to be constantly growing and evolving and experiencing more new things as you live your life. It gives purpose and context to the daily experience of living. Learning keeps life from becoming a chore.

Being excited to learn means you’re excited to be alive! Be excited about life! Be excited to learn!