#TAKEMEANYWHERE

On May 23, 2016 the art collective LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner started their latest project which is their most intimate to date.  Promoted by Vice, MediaLive Corruption, and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art - The group is hitchhiking around Colorado and inviting the public to take them anywhere.  With no end goal in sight, the group is putting their path entirely in the hands of the people of Colorado.  Their coordinates are constantly updated on the #TAKEMEANYWHERE Vice Map as well as by the individual artists on Twitter.  They encourage anyone who lives in Colorado and may be near them to track them down, pick them up, and take them wherever their heart desires. 

"Each day, the trio will tweet their coordinates using the #TAKEMEANYWHERE hashtag and wait for a ride. Whoever then appears will have the opportunity to take the artists wherever they so choose." — LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner May,25 2016. 

Similar to the collective's previous projects, this latest endeavor relies heavily on public interaction.  The group commonly explores themes of personal transparency and voyeurism, but their latest project is somewhat special because it relies solely on interactions and participation with their audience.  The concept behind #TAKEMEANYWHERE is inspired by from the classic journey of the American road trip.  Driving through America has long been a symbol of exploration, freedom, and seeking collective knowledge through travel.  By deffering to make their own choices and relying solely on the people of Colorado, the group has created something organic and empowering.  Colorado is known for being full of free spirited people that love the outdoors, and LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner couldn't have chosen a better location for this project. 

Image courtesy of LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner - thecampaignbook.com/projects/iamsorry/

A similiar project was one of the groups first, titled #IAMSORRY where Shia Lebouf sat in a small room in a Los Angeles gallery and invited guests to come in and interact with him.  Although he expected good intentions and experiences from this endeavor, he sadly had some shitty visitors - one of whom even attempted to rape Shia. This negative experience was outweighed by the positive ones and didn't stop the group from continuing to explore themes of transparency, human interaction, and realism -  all reliant on audience participation. 

"Some would hold my hand and cry with me, some would tell me to "figure it out" or to "be a man." I’ve never experienced love like that; empathy, humanity." Interview with Shia Lebouf -  McCormack, David (Nov 30, 2014. Daily Mail

Another similar project the group did in 2015 was titled #ALLMYMOVIES.  For this project, Shia sat in a movie theatre (where like the project #IAMSORRY, participants were encouraged to join him) and proceeded to watch all of his movies non-stop while having his face and his reactions voueyersitcailly recorded and fed live to the public throughout the entire marathon.  This personal journey with the artist was incredibly intimate and well received by audiences. Through the project #ALLMYMOVIES people started to better understand the art collectives goals of highlighting the importance of human connection, celebrity romanticization, and personal transparency.  As is evident with #TAKEMEANYWHERE the group continues to explore these themes and invites the public to be a part of art history. 

#TAKEMEANYWHERE is currently in progress until June 23rd and the group will be traveling around Colorado constantly tweeting their locations and progress.  Check out their journey on Vice and feel free to track them down and give them a ride! I know I will!