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<\/a>The idea of For Everyone a Fountain <\/i>stems from Youds wanting to explore the idea of what consciousness is and how humans view the world around them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m interested in urbanism and how we live; I also wanted to explore consciousness and what it is, where it resides, and how we accumulate knowledge,\u201d he says. \u201cI also wanted to explore the kind of objects we collect as memorabilia and the way we look at both new and old buildings as a kind of measure of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Youds hopes that viewers spend the time to take in the experience of his piece. He also says that he\u2019d like people to question what it is that they value in their lives but don\u2019t fully appreciate. He feels that the piece will allow people to reflect on themselves a bit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe piece invites a kind of experiential condition around it, with the allure of watching something change before your eyes. It also questions what we take advantage of in our society, such as things like cellphones as a form of communication, which some people arguably might say are extensions of ourselves,\u201d says Youds. \u201cSo it sort of questions where that sense of self is, how artificial intelligence is changing how we understand consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Youds says that the exhibit\u2019s name has many meanings; one is a nod to a piece of 20th century modern art called The Fountain<\/i>, which Youds describes as \u201ca urinal [the artist] put in a gallery context… It changes the way we perceive everyday objects in the sense of art.\u201d<\/p>\n
Youds says that his exhibit is also an opportunity to think about time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tables stacked are my idea of a measure of time,\u201d he says. \u201cI always tell people that no matter where you go, the first thing you do is always set up, and you usually do it in the simplest form, and that\u2019s a desk and a lamp. I used these tabletops stacked on each other as a sort of measure of someone\u2019s life: the number of times you move, change homes, that type of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n