Acceptable reasons to cry in public
I contributed a measly $10 to this Kickstarter project called "Acceptable Reasons to Cry in Public," a public grassroots letterpress broadside art installation, and in return I got these four gorgeous posters, complete with letterpress-printed QR codes--one to keep, three to post in public spaces. Working at a college, I feel I am in a place full of people--students and faculty--who are forever on the verge of emotional breakdown; and these people seem especially in need of the consolation that we all cry in public sometimes. My own life this past four or five years has been littered with these glittering moments. It's genuine and tragic and kind, and in the end, it's also funny. I loved being able to be a tiny part of this project.
After brainstorming with a few friends, I decided my chosen venues would be public bathrooms around the Washington College campus--ladies' bathrooms in particular. Isn't that where all of us girls prefer to do our public crying?
My first location was the first-floor bathroom of The Rose O'Neill Literary House (my home base on campus):
Second, the door on the last stall in the women's bathroom in the Casey Academic Center (home of the mail room, college bookstore, a few classrooms, and the financial aid office upstairs--the last of which seems a perfectly acceptable reason to cry in public):
Last, near the window in the women's bathroom on the first floor of William Smith Hall (populated by numerous classrooms, English faculty offices, and a small theatre):
At this last location, I was finally caught in the act by a fellow staff member. So I got to explain about the project and hope that these posters won't go unnoticed. Who knows how long they will be allowed to remain in their hallowed places. For a few months, at the least, I would hope. Mine will be framed and hung in my office.
P.S.
The instruction letter they mailed along with the posters was typed up on a blue Sears Citation typewriter. That made me happy too. (But I didn't cry about it)
After brainstorming with a few friends, I decided my chosen venues would be public bathrooms around the Washington College campus--ladies' bathrooms in particular. Isn't that where all of us girls prefer to do our public crying?
My first location was the first-floor bathroom of The Rose O'Neill Literary House (my home base on campus):
It fits in perfectly among the walls covered in framed letterpress posters printed right here in our Print Shop.
Second, the door on the last stall in the women's bathroom in the Casey Academic Center (home of the mail room, college bookstore, a few classrooms, and the financial aid office upstairs--the last of which seems a perfectly acceptable reason to cry in public):
Last, near the window in the women's bathroom on the first floor of William Smith Hall (populated by numerous classrooms, English faculty offices, and a small theatre):
At this last location, I was finally caught in the act by a fellow staff member. So I got to explain about the project and hope that these posters won't go unnoticed. Who knows how long they will be allowed to remain in their hallowed places. For a few months, at the least, I would hope. Mine will be framed and hung in my office.
The instruction letter they mailed along with the posters was typed up on a blue Sears Citation typewriter. That made me happy too. (But I didn't cry about it)
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