This piece is more commonly referred to as 'the paint-drippy thing on the wall', and that is basically what it is. £30,000 worth of different coloured paints dribbled down the wall.
Here's a quote from my blog at the time of the Incident:
"...there is a small poster thingy behind a clear plastic screen next to the paint-drippy thing in the Maths department which tells us that some people actually appreciate this kind of thing. A pretty boring read actually. At least it was, until yesterday afternoon. For that is when the Swapster struck. In an elaborate disguise consisting of a broad-brimmed leather hat, he assiduously copied down the complimentary poster and forged a replacement which, though not uncomplimentary, bordered on the tongue-in-cheek. Sufficiently similar to avoid notice by casual observers, even keeping the first paragraph the same, this poster encourages the reader to squint at the painting through their outstretched fingers and waggle their head from side to side for the optimal viewing experience. It also gently pokes fun at Davenport's near-miss of the Turner prize: Untitled (drab). The replacement was slid inexpertly under the perspex cover over the original, but looks official enough even close to. However, the icing on the cake was the meeting with the head of security for the Maths Department. He has his own special office, just across from the scene of the crime, and apparently observed the switch take place. So this afternoon he came up to me (amateur that I am, I was still wearing the elaborate disguise) and more or less congratulated me. If the head of security is for us, who can be against us? I confidently expect my poster to remain for many weeks to come. "
Here's the original blurb that described the piece: Original Poster
And this is the version I replaced it with: Revised Version
The results of my hard work:
"...You may or may not remember a little episode recorded here towards the end of October involving the dripped paint on the wall of the maths department. The heist involved a switch of the little notice beside the 'painting' for a subtly different one. You will notice that I include an invitation to the reader to "Stand a few metres away and hold up your hand so you can see the painting through your fingers", implying a sufficiently vague, but interesting, result. This clause was included to allow me to see when people read and were taken in by my work of fiction.
They say that good things come to those who wait, and it's been a good 8 months since it was put up. It has remained unmoved, which is a minor victory, but so, it seems, have most of the students of the maths department. Until today. Or, more accurately, yesterday. Others claim to have seen similar responses in the past, but this is the first time I've seen people taken in (at least when I have my camera with me). And here's the proof:
"My alteration has gone unchallenged since it took place in October of 2005.
This is the official university page of the artwork, including a priceless video commentary.
Note: My description includes the information that the artwork incorporates 12 miles of dripped paint. Honesty compels me to admit that, subsequently, I have actually counted the number of lines instead of making a rough guess, and based on the fact that the wall is ostensibly 30 feet high I can confidently put the figure at something closer to 3.6 miles. However, it was interesting to hear that a maths quiz presented to some fourth-year friends of mine included a question on the combined length of the paint drips, with the official answer being taken directly from my wild guess on the revised caption.
This is the official university page of the artwork, including a priceless video commentary.
Note: My description includes the information that the artwork incorporates 12 miles of dripped paint. Honesty compels me to admit that, subsequently, I have actually counted the number of lines instead of making a rough guess, and based on the fact that the wall is ostensibly 30 feet high I can confidently put the figure at something closer to 3.6 miles. However, it was interesting to hear that a maths quiz presented to some fourth-year friends of mine included a question on the combined length of the paint drips, with the official answer being taken directly from my wild guess on the revised caption.
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