The stuff of daily life is the point of departure for these works by artists from the U.S., Europe, Asia, and South America, presented by way of written instructions. In this unusual exhibition, the artworks can be made by anyone, and the number of participants involved in their creation is unlimited. The instructions simply establish a context and a site for the works either in a museum or a home. It is up to the hosting institution to select a minimum of fifteen among the thirty do it (museum) and the twenty do it (home) instructions offered, and to assign the creation of artworks to participants as they desire. Those charged with making the artworks must exercise their interpretative skills since, like a musical composition, each version of a work in do it is meant to be a unique realization of the instructions.

The exhibition is accompanied by a 104-page illustrated catalogue, with an Introduction by guest curator Hans-Ulrich Obrist, who is a curator at the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris, and an essay by Bruce Altshuler, director of the Museum Studies graduate program at New York University.