“You Think I Can Eat All That Chicken Here?” or “To Stay or To Go?” is about one composite, morphing character’s fantastic 200-year journey, an escape from slavery in mid-19th Century South to putative freedom in 21st Century America. Numerous artworks such as artist books, mixed media drawings, maps, reliquaries, diaries and other constructed ephemera expand from small, handmade boxes to comprise a large installation. Images and texts are informed by historical materials and inspired by contemporary stories and images of urban life. The artwork will evoke the movement of a dream (sometimes nightmarish) narrative spanning much of American history. The problem is, it’s got to be funny.
The intention is to make connections between past and present by asking if American Society can “move on from our past” without having acknowledged our foundation of stolen land, rape, murder, slavery. Can one create a good life here with our unresolved past of oppression and duplicitous declarations of freedom for all? Do chickens really come home to roost? To stay or to go?
Last week, the group started with exercises to get to know one another and we discussed the best ways to speak about about potentially challenging issues, and started to think about what the project will be. So far everyone seems to have a good foundation going into these first weeks of production.
No comments:
Post a Comment