Alexandria — Alexandria artist, Linda Hesh, is hanging 3,000 white paper doorknob hangers on homes and businesses in the Del Ray and Potomac West areas of Alexandria. On several days leading up to Aug. 2, 2012, Hesh will have a crew of art enthusiasts help her to install her artwork titled “Art is...” The doorknob hangers might at first glance seem like your typical advertising vehicle promoting a restaurant or dry cleaner, but each piece of 4.25”x 11” piece of white card stock will display one of four short poetic phrases: Art is to See; Art is to Feel; Art is to Do; or Art is to Know.
The bold, black type is large enough that you can read the words from across the street, making each home one part of a 3,000 house installation. It's an artwork constructed of many small pieces that add up in size to an area of more than 100 blocks.
Anyone who finds one of Hesh's small artworks on their door is invited to photograph it where they like and upload the image to an online website maintained by the Alexandria Commission for the Arts. The back
of the doorknob hanger will contain a website address and QR code to encourage people to make Hesh's art into their own work of art.
This temporary interactive public art project is sponsored by the Alexandria Commission for the Arts. The installation is timed to coincide with the Aug. 2 “First Thursday” evening event held in the business district of Del Ray. The theme of the night will be art and fashion.
Linda Hesh lives and maintains a studio in Alexandria. Her artwork is in collections including the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Library of Congress. Last
year she received an award in Recognition for Community Engagement in Public Art from the Americans for the Art for a similar project of doorknob hangers. Her upcoming projects include traveling to St. Petersburg, Russia to participate in a temporary public art festival.