My first Readymade art experience !

  

Readymade art by Samia Al Homsi Dagher

  It was pretty simple, I was back in college, there was this project, the idea of Readymade Art, known also as Found art, or Installation in french, the idea was to build something up, something artistic, but it should involve more than just painting on some wall, it was literally executing a 3D piece of art ! it was my first experience ever, and I wanted it to be perfect ! so I tried to think outside the box, and do something special, that's when it hit me..CHESS ! I play chess since I was a little girl and I always loved the way it  made me think, work this brain and figure out how to make plans and follow strategies, that game is challenging! 

Readymade art by Samia Al Homsi Dagher  

So I ended up with a 3 meters height artwork made of simple white cork cropped gently to match the shape needed... and painted with acrylic colors, my dad was there for me to help me with the cropping thing, using special tools! the whole work took almost a month, I remember one time I asked the janitor to open the college gate for me on Sunday! to be able to finish it ! oh but it was fun, I almost climbed the walls, but it was worth it !

The work was finally over, with success I believe, I was able to accomplish almost 70% of what I had in mind! which was great! I was satisfied by my accomplishment back then!

Readymade art by Samia Al Homsi Dagher

So, the evaluation date.. I was scared, couldn't hide it ! but at the same time I was thrilled, excited, wanted to know whether if my hard work will pay off or not !

Readymade art by Samia Al Homsi Dagher  

To impress..I had to had two + ,the first for the work itself, the details, the beauty of the piece, and the second was how to impress the jury when talking about it ! we had to have a theme, a thought to fight for, and idea to deliver to the jury, using a strong convincing logic !

Readymade art by Samia Al Homsi Dagher

I admit ! it was unforgettable ! my theme was political, I saw in this very chessboard (which in this project was only 7*7 instead 8*8 ..on purpose ! ) I saw my country, Lebanon, as a small battlefield ! it's 7*7 because we couldn't stand WAR anymore, our Lebanon was too small for all those fights ! and so I explained the purpose, my pieces were all black and white which represented the ordinary Lebanese country,lost between choices, except for the two kings, I had them each in color which represented government and opposition! the game was well played, I had the pieces arranged in a critical way, for the neutral pieces, in order to revolt ! and get rid of both sides,when the chance is right! the CHANCE was represented by two red dices in the bottom ! 

Readymade art by Samia Al Homsi Dagher

The show was awesome! I got a high grade, I just felt like the hard work finally payed off ! and till that day,the pieces, those giant pawns and knights, in my house,I kept them for the loving memory of my first Readymade art experience.