Mel Chin’s work spans many years, different mediums and modes of practice.  The mode of practice that inspired me for this project was his public practice which deals with problems he sees in the world and draws attention to them through art projects.  His Fundred Dollar Bill project and Operation Pay Dirt are great examples of this. The Fundred Dollar Bills were copies of hundred dollar bills with the face in the center missing.  Students from around the United States drew in the face and the bills were going to be exchanged for real money to found the extraction of lead from the soil of Louisiana.

The thought process that is seen in the Fundred Dollar Bill project is present in the first intervention into the school.  We will be covering the windows facing the courtyard with paper and allowing students to create artistic expirations of what they think the courtyard will look like when the project is complete.  We are providing each student with a plan of the courtyard which they will cut out and paste on the paper that covers the windows. The students are the most affected by the architectural aspects of the school and the spaces they exist in for the greater part of every weekday.  Giving them a voice to decide what they see as being important is critical to the project.  I think it is the challenge of this project to create a framework for many of the suggestions that the students provide.