Statues Also Die at Real Art Ways

This story needs to be told because not only has social distancing and disconnecting from the world affected my life but others as well. Feeling like you’re boxed in because of the virus is something a lot of people can relate to but is not brought up enough in the media. We can feel as though we are always stuck behind a screen as we watch everyone experience going outside.

I made a small maquette of an Earth Goddess during the Me,Too events. She was ransacked and exploited, mined, on one side and natural on the other. I showed her at the CT Women Artists Members’ show at the New Britain Art League

My monument is meant to memorialize all the artists whose lives are dedicated to making art that no one will ever recognize or know about because fame eluded them; artists whose work is forgotten and discarded after they die. There’s obviously lots of them, probably myself included!

The political environment today I think can be compared to barnyard animals. Sheep tend to follow the crowd, not caring for consequences and pigs gobble up as much slop as they can without concern for others (greed). There needs to be a breath of fresh air in Washington because we keep getting these old animals who are either left or right.

This monument represents how at the darkest times of life, there’s a way out if you make one. It represents will power against all the odds.

Trees are all around us and connected to us but most people pay little attention to them. Along with the other life on the tree and the idea that this young tree will grow and be tall, this sculpture signifies healing and growth and how the integration and going back to nature will help us as humans heal and grow as well. Along with the sculpture, it would include planting several long lasting trees around that area to put the ideas into action.

Recently the federal government ended the 600 extra dollars in unemployment assistance. Since millions of Americans have lost their jobs due to COVID, there is going to be a huge increase in evictions over the next few months. This door represents the front door of the average American family, and what will happen if the government does not take more action.

The monument speaks to colorism specifically within the Black community that uniquely affects women such as job opportunities, dating, and representation. This story needs to be told because we are a collective who are purposely being downplayed and overlooked.

It’s the story of apparent differences bound by gravity on a mound of sand. People come and go leaving foot prints in the sand.

As a child, I was a big introvert, which meant I was my own company. I felt like a ghost or a fly on the wall, something barely acknowledged, yet tolerated. Nothing to pay any attention to or engage with in anyway; apologetic for my own presence.

The sculpture communicates what people go through in their minds, in their daily lives. This story matters because I believe that there isn’t enough awareness about mental health. The effects of dealing with mental health can put a toll on your mind. It can eat you or your loved ones alive, leaving you and your loved ones in a dark place.

To show the struggle the world had when COVID-19 became a pandemic and emphasize that we need to do everything we can to prevent the spread. Though not everyone is Catholic/Christian Jesus Christ is the most recognizable figure on earth and I feel using him helps get the point across to as many people as possible.

I propose a land monument to be created in 2040 A.D. to commemorate the end of our reliance on the petroleum industry. This land monument covers the entire oil terminal complex where New Haven Harbor’s oil storage tanks once stood full of home heating fuel: their circular footprints replaced with crop circle gardens sprouting massive flowering fields, native grasses, traditional vegetable gardens, or small forested plots. Plowshares Land Monument marks our transcendence over the violent, dark age of fossil fuel, turning swords and oil into plowshares and gardens.

A monument representing Dr. Babatunde Olatunji will further memorialize the legacy of an African American who was born and raised in Nigeria. His influences on the paths of musical giants including John Coltrane, Carlos Santana, and Mickey Hart are legendary. A tireless and vocal proponent of social justice and economic equality, Olatunji was a contemporary of Dr. Martin Luther King at Morehouse College, and he participated in the Freedom Marches.

This monument “architecture of sadness” is a huge curtain of recycled blue jeans, plaid flannel shirts, hoodies, jackets, and rope hanging from the ceiling to the floor in the middle of a enormous, open indoor space grounded by a pool of sleeping bags and quilts, all in various shades of blue. The materials for this installation were collected in 2019. This is a monument commemorating the terrible loss and sadness around the world due to the coronavirus. The physicality of the vast amount of discarded clothing symbolizing loss and its enormous weight represent the emotional toll of Covid 19. The pieces of clothing are suspended from metal hooks, crudely sewn together, stapled together, and pinned with quilting safety pins creating a heavy web and waterfall-like structure in which physical and emotional gravity are embodied due to the vast scale.