Miranda July, Craigslist Reseller

Last week, I attended the opening for Miranda July’s new project, “It Chooses You,” a store based on her new book (published by McSweeney’s) of the same name.

The store, at Partner’s and Spade in SoHo, is an exercise in buying belongings from New York-area Craigslist sellers and reselling the contents for the exact same price. Examples varied from an entire drum kit to a pair of small deer hooves. July, who was recently profiled in the magazine, interviewed all the sellers and repackaged the goods with interviews attached. By the time I arrived, 45 minutes into the show, nearly all of the belongings were sold out.

Are these paints the leftovers of a failed attempt at an art career?

Not necessarily — but I haven’t touched the stuff in years. Painting, especially with oils like these, is just a little too slow and requires much more patience than I find myself having these days.

Were they stolen as a set? Or over a longer period of time?

Defiantly over a long period of time. I used to work at an art store, making next to nothing paywise, and stealing the paint was my way of feeling like I was taking back something from them that I deserved. I got obsessed with having one of every color, and creating my own display like the one they had in the shop, but I quit the job before I could get to that point.

(excerpt from NYTimes.com)