candles, matches, a working flashlight and battery powered AM radio - in Ken and Sondra's basement, Beloit, WI
road barricade at the Shoppier Road entrance ramp to I-90 outside Beloit, WI (used to block traffic when the highway is snowed over and impassable)
these are some objects that signify a potential. they have potential energy; they are waiting to be put to use. in these two photos the objects wait for a large meteorological event (e.g. blizzard) that would cause a blackout or impassable roads. the barricade, flashlight, radio, and candles currently serve no function other than foreshadowing what may be - when they will become active.
the above photographs predict an external action (blizzard/blackout) and an action that will be taken by the object(s) (barricade set up/candles lit/etc). this second action is somewhat internal to the object(s) - it is its purpose. in these, the two actions are fairly obvious. whereas the objects in the photograph below signal its two actions in a less pronounced manner. i see the predicted and external action here as a death. the second action is the burial and engraving of the tombstone; but there are other, more slippery, actions that are sprung into play after the predicted event: the wake, funeral, funeral precession, prayers, and even the flowers that are left at the graveside years later. in actuality, the second event here is mostly emotional.
then, the predicted events/tragedies trigger a flash light that illuminates a darkened house, a shut-in winter day, a body that is laid to rest, and a person that is mourned for. i like thinking of these together.
these are some objects that signify a potential. they have potential energy; they are waiting to be put to use. in these two photos the objects wait for a large meteorological event (e.g. blizzard) that would cause a blackout or impassable roads. the barricade, flashlight, radio, and candles currently serve no function other than foreshadowing what may be - when they will become active.
the above photographs predict an external action (blizzard/blackout) and an action that will be taken by the object(s) (barricade set up/candles lit/etc). this second action is somewhat internal to the object(s) - it is its purpose. in these, the two actions are fairly obvious. whereas the objects in the photograph below signal its two actions in a less pronounced manner. i see the predicted and external action here as a death. the second action is the burial and engraving of the tombstone; but there are other, more slippery, actions that are sprung into play after the predicted event: the wake, funeral, funeral precession, prayers, and even the flowers that are left at the graveside years later. in actuality, the second event here is mostly emotional.
then, the predicted events/tragedies trigger a flash light that illuminates a darkened house, a shut-in winter day, a body that is laid to rest, and a person that is mourned for. i like thinking of these together.
my grandparent's tombstone, Oakwood Protestant Cemetery, Wilmington, IL
(i think i may like to re-create the radio/candle arrangement as a sculpture titled we go to bed, but we don't sleep too hard)
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