Norman Lives!
So by now you know the story of Norman: a Guerrilla Marketing Backfire
Stories like that deserve a happy ending, and this is it. Two weeks after Big Norman was vandalized, I began work on a much smaller version. This time, I wouldn’t be installing in a park, but rather, giving away copies to neighbors.
No risk– no laws broken. No big deal if someone thought the sculpture was dumb, or they didn’t want it, they could just chuck it in the trash bin.
I’d simply cast several (as many as I could stand to make) copies and leave them on porches. I started that project on May 17.
Clay Smol Norman before casting– a little over 5″, or 1/13th scale of original Harper Park Sculpture
However, Smol Norman– in his three-dimensional form– was not without his problems. I intended to dye him green when making the casts (food dye in plaster) to save time on painting.
For whatever reason, that went weird. I had dyed plaster before, but this time, the colors separated into yellow, blue, and teal. And every cast was different.
I had another problem, too. Smol Norman’s neck kept breaking, because it was so thin. And to top it off, I had some mold making issues that resulted in many of the casts coming out deformed, as if someone had punched Smol Norman with a baseball bat before he set up (kinda like the Big Norman in the park.)
Ok, at this point, I gotta admit, I was thoroughly frustrated with attempts to do Norman: Public: v2
I worked on other projects for a while, but on July 2, I was cleaning up my studio, and I had a gander at the original sculpt of Smol Norman, which was distorted and seamed from the mold-making process. I knew what I had to do.
By July 5th, I had a new mold of Smol Norman in a 6×6″ relief format, to be hung on a wall.
On Tues, July 22, I set out on my covert mission. This time, there wouldn’t be much anonymity, but still, I felt sneaky, leaving Norman plaques on doorsteps, knocking, and driving to the next house.
Afterwards I received a phone call and a couple of messages. Smol Norman had indeed brought some hope and smiles to the community, and that’s all I was really after, in the end.