San Francisco — Ever so often you come across a piece of art that compels you to pause and reflect. Usually you’re in a gallery or museum when this occurs, but, that’s not always the case. Thanks to Akin Bilgic, a visual effects designer and animator, this could soon be happening on the streets of San Francisco, possibly in your neighborhood, if at least $3,000 is pledged by May 30th.
The 27-year-old, who hails from just outside Washington DC, is planning the SF Mirrors Project with several of his friends. Their plan is to mount mirrors around the city with motivational sayings like “Looking good. Ask him/her out for some coffee today.” and thought-provoking statements like “If this were your last year alive, what would you be doing differently?”
Recently, I caught up with Bilgic for an e-interview to discuss how everyday people can lend their voice and support the SF Mirrors Projects.
The Chic Spy: What inspired the SF Mirrors Project?
Akin Bilgic: I’ve always wanted to make art that inspires and makes people happier; I’d say it’s been a driving theme behind most of my personal artwork. But I’ve recently wanted to get into bigger and more public projects that are aimed at influencing people on a more personal level. So I thought a public art project would be a great way to do it. Depending on how successful this project is, hopefully I’ll be able to do many more.
TCS: How many of you and your friends are working on the SF Mirrors Project?
AB: For now the team is pretty small, just my roommate and close friends helped me make the pitch video. If the project gets enough pledges and the funding goal is reached, then the team will expand to my close circle of friends who’ll help me create all of the mirrors and put them up around the city overnight.
TCS: Are there any sample mirrors up around the city currently?
AB: Not yet unfortunately. For the pitch video I just hauled one mirror (which I nabbed from my bathroom door) around to different spots in the city to get the footage I needed. I’m a student living on a tight budget, so I can’t afford to get a bunch of mirrors just yet! Hopefully, thats where people who believe in the project and Kickstarter.com come in.
TCS: Are backers allowed to use famous or familiar quotes on their mirror, or does it have to be original content?
AB: Backers who pledge $25 dollars can submit whatever message they’d like as long as it doesn’t exclude any group of people and fits within the theme of the project. I think it’s a pretty unique opportunity that enables people from anywhere in the world to spread an inspiring message of their choosing to a large group of people. So I’m hoping people use the opportunity to come up with some creative and personal things to say to the city.
TCS: You want to put up as many mirrors as possible, how many are you hoping to get?
AB: After scouting around for prices of the mirrors, I’m anticipating a cost of around $25-$35 for each mirror (since they’ll be special acrylic mirrors that won’t shatter for obvious safety reasons). So based on that, I’ve set the funding goal at $3,000 so I can get at least 100 mirrors up throughout the city. But the great thing about Kickstarter.com is that once the funding goal has been reached, people can keep pledging money to the project until the funding period ends on May 30. If I get $5,000 pledged instead of the original goal of $3,000, I’ll be able to buy more mirrors, and the project will cover more of the city. But if we can’t reach the $3,000 funding goal, then the project doesn’t get any funding.
TCS: What kind of feedback have you been getting so far, has the city responded to your call for support for this public art project?
AB: It’s only been a day since the project was launched, and already the response has been great; it’s gotten a lot of enthusiasm online, and it seems to be getting passed around very quickly on Facebook. We raised $125 on the first day, so I’d say it’s off to a great start, but there’s still a long way to go until the $3000 funding goal is reached and the project can become a reality. Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing funding platform, so if we fall short of the funding goal by the deadline of May 30, the project doesn’t get funded and I won’t be able to do the project. So I’m hoping that the people who like the idea behind the project show their support by going to the project’s page and chip in whatever they can. Even $5 helps a great deal. If you’re totally broke, just sending it to your friends and family asking for their help is very much appreciated.
TCS: How long will the mirrors stay up?
AB: Who knows! That’s kind of the beauty behind a public art project like this, it’s a temporary medium by its very nature. Technically, anyone is free to just walk up and pull a mirror down at any time, there’s nothing we can do to stop that, but on the other hand they could stay up for weeks, months, or who knows! It’s all in the hands of the people, the city is the curator of this gallery.
TCS: Have you already outlined the areas where the mirrors will be placed and will there be a map guiding sponsors to wear they can find the mirrors?
AB: There are a few places I have in mind, but for the most part they’ll be distributed randomly and as evenly across the city as possible — definitely in areas where they’ll be able to reach the most amount of people. Hopefully on launch day we’ll also have an interactive map online to guide people if they want to check out the mirrors in person, but they definitely won’t be easy to miss!
TCS: Will each of the people donating to get a mirror hung with their saying know where that mirror is placed in the city?
AB: For the people that sponsor a mirror, we’ll be actively documenting the whole project and will let the sponsors know exactly where their mirror was placed, and also photograph and film it once it’s been put up.
TCS: What do you hope to achieve through SF Mirrors Project?
AB: I want this project to inspire people, and spread a bit of happiness throughout the city. Even if only one person takes away something meaningful from this project, then in my opinion it will all be worth it. How amazing would it be if someone ended up dating someone they’ve liked for a while because they felt confident after seeing a mirror that that says “Looking good! Ask him/her out for some coffee today”. Or all the great memories that can be created if people acted on the message of “Do something you’ll remember for the rest of your life this month”. The possibilities are endless, and ENTIRELY in the hands of each and every person out there that sees these mirrors. The mirrors are hopefully just the push they needed. And in the end, I hope the project inspires others to make their own projects in this theme of spreading inspiration and happiness to others. I want people to see that I’m just some regular guy that had a small and simple idea, and decided to give it a shot; that’s really all that it takes to make a difference.
If the funding goal of $3,000 is not reached by May 30th, SF Mirrors Project will not happen.
For more info on SF Mirrors Project, visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akinbilgic/the-sf-mirrors-project.
