BY Tina Seligman | December 8, 2011

Upcycled Cups Caffeinate the City

Cup-gazing, photographing and blogging have become a New York obsession for thousands of people daily captivated by Hypergraphia: The Cup Drawings – Studio in the Prow. Gwyneth Leech’s expanding universe of upcycled take-out paper coffee/tea cups has converted the iconic Flatiron building’s glass peninsula adjacent to Sprint’s retail store into a hybrid of public space, gallery and art studio. Curated by Cheryl McGinnis in partnership with Sprint, the exhibit, on view 24 hours a day through February 2012, is as much about the mobility of city life as it is about Leech’s compelling need to draw. Sipping tea, sometimes chatting and always drawing on-site from Tuesday through Saturday 11am-2pm, Leech shares McGinnis’ passion for making art accessible. They feel gratified to have a connection with viewers of all ages on the move, often with ubiquitous cup in hand as they pause with curiosity and delight at the jewel-like transformation of an object they were about to toss. Many have begun to choreograph their routes to include repeat visits as the installation grows and changes. People engaged and looking at art. The cups have become as addictive as the caffeinated beverages they once contained.

 
While any artwork can be placed in a transparent public box, it won’t necessarily activate the space. Hypergraphia needs to be in this venue. There is a symbiotic relationship between the ceaseless movement of Leech’s hands, the turning of suspended cups, the motion of passers-by, the shifting seasons, weather and light, the ongoing reorganization of cups and their relocation into diverse neighborhoods and architectural shapes. McGinnis has always chosen non-traditional gallery spaces that encourage viewers and collectors to discuss the work in a salon atmosphere while having a cup of tea. “Hypergraphia became the perfect project to bring art and process out of the gallery into everyday life and Gwyneth’s presence in the space is essential. Few artists would be comfortable working in public, however this is not a performance or demonstration, but rather a natural extension of her compelling need for mark making wherever she is. Three years ago, while sitting in a meeting without a sketchbook, she drew on the only available surface -- her empty paper cup -- which became an art studio that could be anywhere.” Over 600 cups later (and counting), her grandmother’s hand-painted chair awaits her in the prow surrounded by rinsed cups, some contributed, and an array of Faber Castell brush pens. Working from memory, observation and from within, her bottomless well of imagery ranges from cityscapes, figures, flora and fauna, to jazzy biomorphic shapes and purely non-objective design. Leech’s fingers fluidly and deftly build, carve, and obliterate lines as if another form of breathing. "The gesture of drawing never loses the vibrancy of what the artist experienced at that moment, and the curved form, challenge of working with existing shapes, colors and text offer infinite variation.” Leech records the date, location and related circumstances on the bottom of each cup, which, when finished, will be dipped in encaustic (wax) for archival preservation.
 
The primary challenge was how to make the cups and space interact. McGinnis considered several ideas including stacking and pedestals until she realized that the cups were meant to be in movement because they were about movement. Suspended from strands of looped monofilament, “I wanted the cups to feel as if they were overtaking the space. The relationship of the cups to the space was the same as the relationship of the cups to the artist:  necessary and all consuming, yet they don't overwhelm.” Gwyneth describes the preliminary installation as “fairly random. Vertical strands can start as groups. Then I mix cups between strands to create variety and plays between colors, shapes and imagery, rearranging as the installation grows. I don’t sort by date at all. New relationships become visible and I also rotate cups that are difficult to see when high up, although there are exceptions that prove the rule; a string of blue Greek cups is still intact. It’s a shifting three-dimensional tapestry.” 
 
Traveling from Leech’s solitary art studio to pop-up storefront window spaces in the garment district this past February and the Upper East Side in June, Hypergraphia’s current residence at the crossroads of mid-town Manhattan offers a new multi-faceted vantage point for both artist and viewers. Globally viewed through Leech’s blog, Gwyneth’s Full Brew, which offers a rare look into the life and development of an art project over time, the early entries feature cup images and witty observations from her travels throughout the boroughs. The blog now incorporates her interaction with the public from a fixed, albeit temporary location, including emailed cell phone snapshots and artists’ photographs as the city orbits around Leech.  
 
Continuously evolving, the purity and immediacy of Hypergraphia contribute to its mesmerizing allure. Hands-on workshops scheduled by McGinnis through her visual thinking Art-E program for children and adults and Leech’s impromptu cup drawing sessions with friends and onlookers who find their way inside the prow offer another sensory and contagious experience. So grab a cup and go!

Tina Seligman is a visual artist, composer, and writer with a passion for exploring how patterns in nature, such as solar and lunar cycles, can be transcribed into music and visual compositions that reveal the physical and emotional effects of rhythms that affect all people regardless of geography or economic status. As a journalist interested in alternative approaches to experiencing art, she has written for Art of the Times and Magazine.ART. To learn more about Tina’s work, please visit www.tinaseligman.com

For additional information visit www.gwynethsfullbrew.com and www.cherylmcginnisgallery.com.