Monthly Archives: January 2019
Planet paintings in petri dishes, Series: From Where We Live We See the Backs of Stars
“When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them…
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself, …
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.” – Walt Whitman
Windows of Understanding, We See through hate
I am a participating artist in this city-wide art exhibition Windows of Understanding.
The vision for this public art project is to transform our “main street” spaces into literal windows of understanding; spaces in which the community can learn about the positive strides being made by local organizations around a wide array of social justice issues that don’t make daily headlines. Windows of Understanding is a creative, community-building response to the negativity and hate being perpetuated in today’s media landscape. Our belief is that through visual language, artists can communicate methods of understanding in powerful ways that cut across cultural boundaries.
In this second iteration of the project, over 30 non-profit organizations will be paired with an artist facilitator to create an original work of art that answers the question: “How do we see through hate?”. The works will be on display at venues throughout New Brunswick and Highland Park, NJ from January 21- February 28, 2019. I am paired with the Fair Housing Program within the NJ Citizen Action, a statewide grassroots organization fighting for social, racial and economic justice. The fair housing program educates people about their rights under the Fair Housing Act, and coordinates fair housing investigations in the areas of rentals, sales and accessibility for people with disabilities, performs data analysis and facilitates complaint resolution. Additionally they provide fair housing education and assistance to housing providers, nonprofit professionals and various organizations statewide. The installation resides within the window of Pura Vida boutique in Highland Park.