Project Description
Reverence (The Weight of Many)
The new work “Reverence” was inspired by an earlier installation piece based on the continual transformation to lands caused by wildfires. See images below “The Beds We’ve Made” The main elements of this earlier work were over a thousands hand-painted pine needles and the collected stones from floodwaters and 50 pounds of sand.
When visiting burn scares just after the fires the layers of blacked pine needles under foot were a powerful image. The pink and gray stones on the forest floor were turned white from the intensive heat. They had become the ghosts of the forest. I have lived in three states in the past 20 years that have all experienced intensive wildfires, California, Oregon, and now New Mexico. My work has always consisted of a strong environmental component, 30 years ago it was one of urgency and desperation. My current work is now more quieter and minimalist in tone. Silence and reflection can be a more powerful voice then our previous attempts to rage against the machine.
This new work proposed for the Rail Yard pulls from my experience of place and time. Stones will be the central part of the work. Stones have deep symbolic meaning in many cultures across the world. They represent the permanence of memory, remembrance, gravity and the solid connection we have to earth. We have used them to mark our paths, build our roads, make our tools and shelters.
Mock up below 1/10 in size:
In “Reverence” each stone will be close in size, comparable to our own hands. White milk paint will be used to coat the tops to create a vast mound of ghost rocks. Diameter of the mound will be 5 to 6 feet across comparable to human body length and 3 feet in height the average height of a seated person. Each stone will be wrapped 3 times and tided with a cotton twine. The mass of stones will be placed on a bed of black pine needles.
Each stone is placed in reverence, we acknowledge its connection to the earth and to place and time. They are ghost rocks of things both past and present. We wrap them like gifts, giving them deep respect and importance. The weight of many can bring change. In simplicity we find both poignance & repose.
Logistics, materials, and install plans:
Collected round stones by volunteers- 1-2 weeks
Average size length of one hand.
Collected pine needles 2 – 5 Gallon buckets full- 1-2 weeks
White milk paint
Black milk paint
Cotton twine
Thousand feet
Rags and brushes for painting
Work will be assembled offsite. 1-2 weeks
Installation process will take approximately 2 to 3 days with Artist and two volunteers.
Installation equipment needed:
2 Pickup trucks for delivery
Garden wagon and wheelbarrow for stones
Broom to clean site
