Round Robin Artist's Statement

The idea of the exquisite corpse is an interesting one. The idea is that a group can collaborate to create a work of art without a uniform vision, with each member of the group working in an entirely different context, and that the beauty of the finished product lies not necessarily in it's cohesiveness but in it's concept.  Working on this project I was at times a little confused because I tend to think that collaborations can only really work if everyone is striving towards the same goal. I wasn't convinced that the exquisite corpse style of collaboration would yield results as interesting as a project in which all the members of the group shared some sort of vision for the project.

While I still believe that these series of tiny stories would be “better” if the creators had been able to communicate more, I realized that the purpose of the exquisite corpse is not to create a perfect work of art, in fact it’s not so much about the product as it is the process. The process of creating an exquisite corpse mirrors real life. Human beings all work and live and create within their own bubbles here on planet Earth. We are not conscious collaborators with the rest of humanity, and yet we are constantly creating an enormous work of art, the sum total of all human creativity and industry. The finished product may not appear cohesive on the surface, and yet as an unconsciously created art project it is the best and most honest reflection of the human soul and collective subconscious we can hope for. These series of tiny stories are like tiny reflections of that bigger picture. There is something interesting about tapping into that subconscious and seeing what ideas, feelings, and aspirations seem to be common in all of us.