The Ace Twelve Project:
Lexington Thinks Global, Shoots Local
By Kakie Urch
One week before 12.12.12 we asked Ace readers to set their iPhone alarms for Noon and Midnight, a designated Wednesday moment in Lexington and spread it around. We posted it on facebook, twitter, and here at aceweekly.com. The hashtag was #AceTwelve.
The idea was inspired by the Lexicon Project, the late great not-for-profit photo collective. They had asked Lexington to do the same thing at 6 pm on July 6, 2005. Their concept was to invite everyone to capture one moment, for all of you to take one beat to think about where you are and what you are doing, and share it with the rest of the city.
This three-year project began on 11.11.11. This year’s sequel is the Ace Twelve Project. And we will repeat it one more time on 11.12.13. Then, in 2014, the projects will be collected for a larger historic art exhibit as part of Ace’s 25th Anniversary celebrations and shenanigans, designed to collect and reflect on Ace’s 25-year institutional memory of the city of Lexington.
No one observes a “holiday” like the Ace readers. Jennifer Burchett made “Twelve Soup.”
Lexington is a college town — even if it is a Finals Ghost Town right now. Brian Connors Manke sent us the view from his desk, looking “down the hall – 2nd floor, Patterson Office Tower at the University of Kentucky.” Kristina Rideout sent us the tree outside Scovell Hall, “finally with some sun on it.”
Transy student Allie Meritt sent over photos of students escaping “the horrors of finals with a chocolate chip muffin at the campus coffee shop.” Matt Waitkus sent us “Finals Week Ghost Town at UK.” Heather Chapman’s photo is of the courtyard next to the UK Engineering Building, on the way to Subway. UK Senior Public Relations Specialist Whitney Hale’s photo “shows the UK holiday video featuring the sounds of Paws and Listen, which I was watching at the appointed time.” Judith Gatton Prats submitted the “View from our treehouse, built 12 years ago by Professor Armando Prats for the delight of his daughters Emily Rose Prats (who was then 12 years old) and Lily K. Prats (who was 5).”
The one thing that outnumbers colleges in the bluegrass is our churches. Holli Powell sent “Sunbeam,” from her office at the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington.
This year’s project features some Great Expectations. Rachel Mitchell sent us the “View From 35 weeks,” and Chris Snider provided a sonogram, “I’m a Boy.”
One of the most vibrant aspects of our town is the arts scene. Leslie Beatty sent us “At Work with Lambchop.” Kim Thomas submitted “So long, porch sessions,” which was “Taken at 12:12 on 12.12.12 during my last ukulele break on the beloved sanctuary side porch before I move from my creepy corner on Second Street to a loft apartment at UK. I’ll miss the music, not the drama.”
Kremena Todorova and Kurt Gohde sent “Discarded.” She wrote that the two of them “stopped what we were working on at exactly 12 today to take ‘DISCARDED on a windowsill’: a view of the window of Kurt’s office at Transy from the inside. All morning we had been sending facebook messages and designing individual tattoos for our latest artwork, the Lexington Tattoo Project. It was fun to pause for a moment to capture a photograph of a miniature couch—picked up at a junk store—that reminded both of us of a different, ongoing artwork.”
Lexington is also one of Kentucky’s major health care centers. Good Samaritan, Markey Cancer Center, and St. Joseph are all represented. Brooke Smith sent an entry including “staff from the UK College of Health Sciences Office of Student Affairs and me (PR/Marketing) taking a break between photo shoots and student interviews in the Charles T. Wethington Building on the UK Medical Campus next door to the Kentucky Clinic.”
Last year’s Eleven Project gave us an explosion of Fall colors in the bluegrass. This year’s Twelve offers a reflection of Lexington during the Holiday season. Heather C. Watson’s photo was captioned, “At the Mall. Ugh.” Travis Robinson sent a pic of the Southern Lights tent at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Ace readers love their animals. Artist John Lackey sent us “Andy and Syd in the new back yard, 12/12/12, noon o’clock.” Farrah Dicken sent us the pic, “Guard Dog,” writing, “Here is Claudia Jean (CJ) holding watch over her backyard from our sunroom on the south side of Lexington. Ready to growl at a squirrel or bird if one invades her turf. She’s tough from inside the house, but if she ever actually got to a squirrel, I’m 100 percent sure that she would just want to introduce herself and be best friends.” Monica Miller-Fladrich’s sent a photo of labs “Waiting.” She writes, “Tim and I have lived in Lexington for five years now. We don’t have any children but have two Labrador Retrievers named Gunner (black) and Cooper (Yellow). They serve as our children and therefore they are very spoiled.”
See you back here next year for 11.12.13. In the meantime, expect a few calendars, t-shirts, and other fine collectibles along the way.
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