When a canvasser shows up at the door it’s unexpected, an uninvited disruption. What is it they want? Usually to change something, preserve something, raise awareness, a donation, a signature, a pledge. The best kind of art serves as an unexpected disruption, a proactive agent, a conduit of cultural transformation. Seen through the eyes of an artist, the activity of a canvasser becomes a rich generative form. Patterns begin to emerge: rhythms, poetry, stories, shapes, artifacts. Suddenly, canvass turf becomes a “canvas” on which new possibilities might be explored or even realized. The results of a collaboration between artist Gary Wiseman and a canvass team of environmental political activists.
I collaborated with two local environmental activist canvass teams. I used their daily activities to create images. Then we organized a performance in which they told stories about their experiences in the field. This catalog is a document of our activities. Snap one up! They are beautiful!