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NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator
colleenaf
06 February 2007 @ 11:06 am
Help Me MURDER the Giraffe!  

This post is a HUGE update for me and for any of you followers of the STALKING AND MURDERING OF A CHILDHOOD GIRAFFE project. It's last minute but this idea just smacked the beegeebees out of me. Seriously, I was shaking on the train ride to work I was so excited!

Quick summary for those who are new (which is also recounted here and here in more depth):
1. missed toy giraffe I had as a child
2. set out to find it
3. decided to take pictures of all "reject giraffes" i came across as I looked for the real one

4. 3 years and 1,712 "reject giraffes" (captured in "giraffe hunts" with the help of 58 people) later I FINALLY found the real giraffe....that was on February 9, 2006.

5. Got depressed I didn't have to hunt anymore...missed friends, missed collaborative project, was too obsessed with found giraffe to move on to "murdering" portion
6. train ride February 6, 2007: FINALLY realized how this all has to end...

This project was originally all about me, about my obsession with the past, about my inability to let go of things...but as it went on it became more about all of you. All of the people that started to become as obsessed as me, all of the friends I made along the way. Honestly my absolute best friends in NY ALL were made through this project. People who found my LJ (like [info]dollomite) and said "hey! I want to hunt for the giraffe with you!"

When I found it (thanks to some help from [info]glitchnyc) I was so happy. After three years I was burnt out, tired of being yelled at in stores, tired of always carrying a camera, just plain tired. But since then I a) didn't have the heart to keep working on the project and b) hated the fact that all of you guys were now "done" it had been found and that part was over.

BUT WAIT! This project is more about all of you and the growing obsession with helping me hunt, and I think the ending should be about all of us. Together. Destroying the damn thing.

This Saturday, almost exactly one year after it had been FOUND, join me to help the murdering to begin.

(psst...and if you aren't in NY read below. You can help to!)

THE MURDER!
WHEN: Saturday, February 10th (and then every second Saturday of the month for the next five months...each shoot will literally only take 10 - 60 seconds)
TIME:2:30 p.m. SHARP to take pictures
WHERE: This time it will be at my apartment in greenpoint (e-mail colleen{a}fluffinbrooklyn.com for details)...then to move up to my apartment building's roof for the actual start of the murder (or the park across the street, if the roof is inaccessible)
WHAT TO WEAR/BRING FOR THIS SATURDAY'S MEETING: the warmest, most layered clothes you can (even if it's a bit warmer out, the colder you look in the pictures the better), YOUR CAMERA, EVERY CAMERA YOU OWN including phone cameras, film cameras, polariod cameras, people with shitty cameras being involved is almost more important than people with professional ones. PLEASE TRY TO BRING A CAMERA FOR BOTH OF YOUR HANDS (NOTE: if you do not have a camera, don't worry. I'll have about 6 on hand for people to borrow.)
IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE OF NY: You will need a screenshot grabbing program. You will get an exact date/time where the events on the roof will be replayed on the web. It will be online for only 2 minutes. No more. THIS MONTH IT WILL BE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10th at from 3:30 p.m. to 3:32 p.m. New York Time. I will post the address of the video on LJ exactly at 3:29 and will post when it is removed exactly at 3:32. Take as many screenshots as you can in the time you watch it once, then e-mail them to me.

WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN....
February 10, 2007: The Reluctant Immersion
March 10, 2007: The Ice
April 14, 2007: The Inside
May 12, 2007: The Fire
June 9, 2007: The Explosive(s) Finale



WHAT WILL HAPPEN for "THE RELUCTANT IMMERSION":
Everyone will stand on my roof with me, camera in each hand. Everyone will be bundled up immensely. I will be wearing a blue bathrobe, barefoot, freezing. I will have the giraffe in hand, and a bucket of water. Everyone will stand around me in a perfect circle. Some folks may have camera's zoomed in, some with wide shots. Everyone will start to take as many pictures as possible in a period of 10 seconds during which I will hold the giraffe over the bucket of water...and sadly drop it in.

AFTERWARDS:
The whole thing will literally only take 10 seconds. There will be no redo's. After everyone goes home I ask you to e-mail me (colleen[a]fluffinbrooklyn.com) or give me all the pictures you took. These pictures will be used to create a 360 degree gallery display. (you will all get credit of course)

WHY/WHAT THIS FEBRUARY SHOOT REPRESENTS:
1. literally letting go
2. loosing my mind
3. the spectacle of obsessiveness
4. collaboration, it's OUR giraffe we are murdering
General tone: I will most likely be crying during this portion (the freezing-my-ass-off thing will help). You will be in the background of other people's shots, but you should do whatever comes naturally, whether it be to smile, laugh, or join me in tears.

MARCH 10th SHOOT: (again in greenpoint)
Same general concept as before. The circle, the short period of multiple pictures from multiple angles, this time I will be thawing out the giraffe (which has been frozen in a giant cube in the bucket) with a heat gun. This shoot will be for exactly one minute of thawing.
THE TONE: cheerier, but still too attached to the giraffe

APRIL 14th SHOOT: (perhaps in a different more central location)
Again, same set up, only now I will violently remove all the stuffing from the giraffe for one minute. The tone is even cheerier, even more so as our clothes start to reflect the warmer weather.

MAY 12th SHOOT: (perhaps in a different more central location)
The remains of the giraffe will be set on fire for one minute. Tone: definitely cheery

JUNE 9th SHOOT/PARTY: (someplace I can actually blow up things!)
The remains will be blown up with explosives, while we celebrate around it. Everyone should wear formal wear, evening gowns, etc. Tone: deliriously happy, eventually drunk and dancing.

If you are out of NY I will try and get these live streamed so you can help "capture" shots as well. I just don't want you to be able to watch it more than once, at least until the project is complete.

PLEASE! Spread the word about this with your friends. I want as many people as possible to take as many angled photographs around me as possible. I know this Saturday is short notice, but as the months go on, and ESPECIALLY for the explosion party, the number of angles and photographs taken will make or break this portion of the project. This is OUR project. Let's murder a giraffe!

Also, for those of you who are crafty types I was already planning to have an all day CRAFT FEST at my greenpoint place starting at 11 a.m. this saturday (Feb 10) and going until nightfall. CRAFT FEST basically means we all sit around watching bad moving and making things. I'll be hand-sewing books and screenprinting shirts. Molly and Martha are already on board for knitting-type stuff. I'll have tons of other things on hand for you to play with including jewerly bits, glass etching materials, and more. We'll take a break for the roof pictures, but the whole day is devoting to making art and making muuuuurder...muahahaaha
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( 33 comments — Post a new comment )
vonandmoggy: Crazy Moggy[info]vonandmoggy on February 6th, 2007 05:53 pm (UTC)
Oh that's AWESOME! I'm killing myself laughing, all alone at my desk at work! :)

I'm in Ottawa but I'll definitely tune in for the broadcasts.
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 7th, 2007 09:07 pm (UTC)
In the "reject giraffe" pictures I decided not to ever smile...which makes me laugh because in a good majority of them I look incredibly constipated.

Yay that you want to participate in the broadcast screenshot thing! Thanks so so so much! I get to add another "giraffe hunter" to the list!
Bronwyn!: birdie[info]bramey on February 6th, 2007 06:21 pm (UTC)
Even if all I get to do is see the murtheration in its final state, I'm very excited about this!
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 7th, 2007 09:09 pm (UTC)
I'm excited about the explosives, the fire, the stuffing and the ice, but not so much about this first part! I've had the giraffe stored in a plastic bag protected from dust, stains, and hidden in my apartment since I found it. It's going to be so hard to destroy it! (Though I guess it probably didn't get much air in that plastic bag...so maybe I already sorta murdered it.)
glitchnyc[info]glitchnyc on February 6th, 2007 08:06 pm (UTC)
Truly, this is brilliant! :)
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 7th, 2007 09:10 pm (UTC)
I'm really super excited about it now! Do you think you and Sara might make it out for the ten seconds of crazy portrait taking (and you'll get a chance to see my new place and maybe take part in CRAFT FEST?) I miss you guys!
Weird and Wonderful New York City[info]herb_lehman on February 6th, 2007 08:12 pm (UTC)
This is insane! I hope I'm able to make it Saturday.

Good luck trying to find a place to blow things up in NYC. I'm sort of stumped on that one!
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 7th, 2007 09:12 pm (UTC)
If you can't make it don't worry, since there will be plenty of other times to help in the next half a year!

I have a feeling the last one is going to have to be slightly outside of NY. I'm thinking a massive fieldtrip upstate perhaps. While it's still illegal there, it's much harder to get caught! (She says this, while still trying to devise a plan on how to blow it up in greenpoint....)
Weird and Wonderful New York City[info]herb_lehman on February 7th, 2007 09:37 pm (UTC)
Oooh, field trip upstate to blow up stuff. Count me in!!
K: brothers[info]aurra_sing on February 6th, 2007 08:38 pm (UTC)
OMG amazing
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 7th, 2007 09:14 pm (UTC)
Thanks! I'm super super excited about it now, which is good because before I came up with this idea I was super super sad about killing the giraffe. But I'm super happy now that I know the whole thing is going to end in explosions and sequins (I plan to get dressed up Golden Girls style for the final party).
LaurenTK[info]botgrrrl on February 6th, 2007 10:50 pm (UTC)
Arrrggghhhh! I'll be snowshoeing at the time of the event.

Hopefully my schedule will let me web participate on the later dates. Maybe I should set up a camera to take pictures of the computer taking the screen shots. Hmm.
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 7th, 2007 09:16 pm (UTC)
Showshoeing...ooooh. I think that's a pretty darn original and good excuse. I've never done it. I assume it must be fun, but the idea of walking in snow just makes me want to curl up next to the (giraffe) fire to stay warm.

Perhaps for the next one I'll survey all you reliable/awesome web friends of mine to see what time works best for everyone.

I really wish you could be here in person since it would be great to have a talented photographer in the mass!
LaurenTK[info]botgrrrl on February 7th, 2007 10:23 pm (UTC)
I would love to be there in person too.

snowshoeing is fun. If you dress correctly. It's a great out door mountain activity where you don't have to throw yourself down a slope. Not throwing one's self down a slope isn't fun, it's just not as fun when you are as out of shape as I'm getting. I'll post somepictures of the snowshoeing just for fun.
A Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons: Clint[info]gwangi on February 7th, 2007 12:47 am (UTC)
Do you have an emergency backup The Giraffe? It seems a shame to destroy something that you looked for for so long.

Also, when you get closer to the blowing-up phase, I'll be happy to provide advice. I have a background in homemade explosive devices that I probably shouldn't really talk about in public, but will be more than willing to give pointers on how to a) blow shit up good and b) make sure you're not part of the things getting blown up.
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 7th, 2007 09:24 pm (UTC)
I sorta have two, but not really. Seems the giraffe was part of a "noah's ark" set for kids. I have the "male" giraffe, but he's bigger and bulkier and his head doesn't flop around as much. I guess if I REALLY start missing this giraffe I am destroying I can just put that other one in a dress and some lacy knickers.




*whispers quietly so people can't read* oh man you just got EVEN cooler in my book. I'm totally going to have to chat with you about your "cooking" expertise, Dr. Sneezeguard
mrs _9[info]clevortrevor on February 7th, 2007 01:15 am (UTC)
this is monumental.. momentous... monumentous, even!
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 7th, 2007 09:26 pm (UTC)
I just wish you guys could be here for this! I mean you played such a huge role in helping me stick to the first stage of the project, which is pretty darn amazing considering how darn far apart we live!

Hmmm...maybe I can get a grant between now and June and fly all of my "hunters" to upstate new york for the final party! Start picking out your evening gown!
mrs _9[info]clevortrevor on February 7th, 2007 10:37 pm (UTC)
the giraffe thing is pretty much the whole reason you originally became my hero. There have been quite a few additional reasons since that time, of course.

I've got my evening gown already - just in case!
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 8th, 2007 08:41 pm (UTC)
Is that how we found each other on LJ? I couldnt' remember! I kept thinking it was through Smax/Raygunn talks...though I can't remember how I found those two either!
mrs _9[info]clevortrevor on February 8th, 2007 08:51 pm (UTC)
I think you found Chris through Smax and Raygunn (whatever happened to them anyway?), and then I added you because Chris told me about some girl with giraffes.

I remember there being a big debate between Chris and me about stealing each others friends ("lame-o" or "aw, sweet!"), and if there had to be a friending grace-period before the other could pounce on someone cool.
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 8th, 2007 09:13 pm (UTC)
I am pretty sure I found Smax and Raygunn through [info]ghastlymess who was one of the first random person to ever friend me (and now we live down the street from each other!)

GOSSIP TIME! So Smax and Raygunn were a couple for a long while. An LJ couple kinda like you and Chris when you were in New Zealand (you know, lots of posts every day as a way of communicating with each other). They split up for a while...which lead to Raygunn leaving LJ and coming back eventually as Raygunn revival. I met both Smax and Raygunn in person around the same time, not knowing they ever dated. I went on one date with Smax..who talked about her a lot. Then I hung out with Raygunn...who talked about him a lot. That one date was only one date, mostly because those two folks were made for each other. I'm not sure exactly how it happened but they got back together eventually, and shortly thereafter (I believe) moved in together. The LJ flirting was no longer needed, so their postings got slower and slower WITH LOVE. (awwww!) After some hunting I just found both of them on Flickr, and I THINK they are on their honeymoon in Prague! Woo! The world is suddenly an even better place...though I still do miss their LJ posts...
mrs _9[info]clevortrevor on February 8th, 2007 09:26 pm (UTC)
Shut UP! You went on a date with the Dr??? I never knew they had dated before, or why she had to be the Revival. How exciting that they're married! I'm mad at them that they had to move in together and quit posting though - that lj flirting was so well-crafted that it made us all fall in love with both of them!
The Real K.P. (there is no other): Furboa Jerboa[info]yanichka on February 7th, 2007 10:46 pm (UTC)
If you get a grant, I am SO ON that plane. Got the little black dress all picked out. Wonder if I should dye my hair....
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 8th, 2007 08:44 pm (UTC)
I think you should dye your hair giraffe color.

Get it....dye/die giraffe!
finkenstein[info]finkenstein on February 7th, 2007 01:28 am (UTC)
eric and I just happen to be coming to the city on that EXACT day (the 10th) to see a play I got tickets for for xmas. We WILL come, and we will cry, and we will photograph it, oh yes.
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 7th, 2007 09:29 pm (UTC)
Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man! You just made my day! It would be so amazing if you guys could join in! I will owe you both "EL SANTO CURED MY LEPROSY" shirts (which will be brought into the world with a big WOO-HOO at STAPLE in march!)

mrcolossal[info]mrcolossal on February 9th, 2007 04:36 am (UTC)
Yes we will be there, we just need to know where you live and the best way to get there from the New York City.

Also, what part of upstate NY are you from originally? Schenectady REPREZENT over here! Reprezentin' condemned buildings and my overweight toothless posse!
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 9th, 2007 07:17 pm (UTC)
Woo! I am going to e-mail you two crazy folks directions. Are you taking car or train or just using magical projectile farts? (It's my belief they always help when trying to walk up a step hill.)

Actually compared to REAL upstate I'm hardly an upstater, but in any of my local NYC friends I'm definitely an upper. I'm from Walden, NY originally, a small village sorta near West Point and Newburgh. Totally not upstate, but I HAVE been cow-tipping and have had random teeth fall out of my head on occasion. Does that count?
Gut Funk[info]massivedamage on February 7th, 2007 02:43 am (UTC)
This brings man-tears to my eyes ;o;!!!!

What a delightfully wonderful project! I am going to be anxiously watching to see how things go!!

It's too bad I can't be there, I'd really like to get this new camera a go at something awe inspiring.

Hopefully schoolwork won't keep me from catching the webfeed!
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 7th, 2007 09:31 pm (UTC)
Down with schoolwork! Up with Giraffes (in flames!)

Awww, man-tears! That's exactly what I was going for! I seem to be exclaiming a lot in this response. Can you tell I'm excited?!

Mike[info]puppymeat on February 7th, 2007 03:21 am (UTC)
I will try to watch the murdering of the giraffe online if I can figure out the time conversion rate by then.

Unfortunately, I'm only really good at blowing up things that are bigger than I am. Like the Urn.
NAME: colleen AF venable, OCCUPATION: occupator[info]colleenaf on February 7th, 2007 09:33 pm (UTC)
Considering I grew up in the extremely boring farmland-filled section of upstate new york it's pretty darn amazing I have never blown anything up before!

I think the hardest part of this project is finding the remains of the giraffe. I want to what's left of it in a clear box at the end. Perhaps you can give me some Urn advise at that point!