Miranda July is a multidisciplinary artist born in 1974 who works in performing, writing, filmmaking, and other mediums. She began her creative career as a teenager writing and directing plays in Berkeley, California. July believes art should engage audiences and invites them to participate in and help create her works. Her 2010 outdoor sculpture installation "11 Heavy Things" in New York's Union Square Park transformed as participants interacted with the works and shared photos online, completing the art through collaboration.

20. Miranda July is a performer, a writer, a filmmaker, and
an instigator, in various combinations and often all at
once. What the heck does that mean? Miranda likes
to make stuff, all kinds of stuff. Miranda was born 1974
Miranda Jennifer Grossinger and she grew up in
Berkeley, California where she began her career as a
teenager, writing and directing plays. At the age of
seven, she wrote a trilogy called The Lost Child and
started recording interviews with herself (first taping the
questions and then filling in the answers). According to
Miranda, she changed her last name to July because
that is the month in which she is the most productive.

21. The beauty of Miranda’s work is that she
doesn’t feel limited to a single medium. One
day she will be writing a screenplay and the
next she is creating sculpture. She is part of
a modern movement that encourages artist
to explore multiple mediums and modes of
expression. Miranda is also very passionate
about community engaging art projects and
often invites the audience to become part of
the creative process. We’ve been looking at
photos from Miranda’s exhibit 11 Heavy
Things which was installed in the center
lawn of Union Square Park in New York in
2010. During this exhibit Miranda invited the
audience to become part of the art.Wait one
minute! The audience can help create art?

22. Yes, the audience can help create art. With
Miranda at the helm art is no longer simply for
looking at. Miranda believes art should
engage an audience. Artists can collaborate
with the viewer. Miranda had the following to
say , about her 11 Heavy Things exhibit, “A
work that begins as sculpture metamorphoses
into countless performances, only complete
when participants photograph their interac-
tions and share them. Through collaboration
and dissemination, the audience shifts and
the viewer becomes the subject of the work.”

23. Assignment:
Create a written “Mirandaism”. Draw, paint, or print this phrases onto a
piece of paper or cardboard. Cut a hole in the board big enough for
someone to fit their head through. Photograph as many people as you
can with the phrase. Display all the photos together in one spot: on a
wall, on the internet, or maybe even on a blog.
Things to consider:
Does the written word effect how you view the participant? Does the
participant change how you view the words? Do the words always feel
the same, or do they change depending on who is sticking their head
through the hole? Do the photos tell the same story when you view
them individually? How about when you view them as a group? Who
was the most important participant in this process? You, the creator of
the words, or the participants in the photos?

24. I will never again be
as young as I am
in this moment