Betty

When originally setting up this piece, I never met anyone who had a relative buried in this section. This past week, when re-setting up after the vandalism, a woman parked at the edge of the field. She came out of her well-polished, and clean Suburban looking car slowly and held the Cryptic Providence map tightly in her hand. She was a well-dressed African American woman, looked like she was on a lunch break, maybe at the cemetary to appreciate some art and solitude.

I greeted her and asked if she was there to view the art and she replied that she was trying to find her baby's grave. She was off from work and said she wished her day off matched when the grounds manager was there. She could not remember which numbered grave was her baby's. She pointed to the middle section and said she thought it was there. That was about where she remembered standing in the rain, 20 years ago.

We spoke for a while about her life, then and now. She said she had her baby girl young and she died an infant. Betty was 18 when this happened, but now she owned her own home and had two teenagers. She was here to see if she get her baby girl out of the field, to re-bury her properly now that she had the money to do it. Betty wanted her children to know(and it sounded like one son in particular) that suffering can happen, to be mindful of the world and what it has to offer. I said I was sorry for her loss, but very glad to meet her, and left her to go and have some privacy.

I am glad me met as it re-affirms to me when making this piece that a person's life can change drastically from bad to good, good to bad...to be mindful of my days. These numbered graves have a life attached, however brief, and a mother who probably hoped for the best.

The Bells Return

The Bells will return by August 12th. Thank you to everyone who has expressed concern over the vandalism and for volunteering to put them back up.

Temporarily Down

The project is temporarily down due to vandalism and for site maintenance. When creating this project, I expected to replace some bells every week, because of sticky fingers. Objects are taken from graveyards all of the time, and it is also oddly flattering that someone would want to keep a piece as a memento. With close to 1,600 separate pieces, I can see how a person could say to themeselves,"Oh it's just one, it won't be noticable." A little can turn into a lot very quickly.

I returned to take down my project for site maintenace by the crew a few days ago and from a distance I thought it looked a little thin. When I got to the middle of the project I was shocked to see ten whole rows missing, close to 300 individual pieces gone. This shocked me. This would have taken a while to do( to take that effort), I thought it must have been noticable and noisy. When I returned again to take it all down, I noticed a shiny bundle in the woods next to the canal. It turns out someone or several individuals, took the rows and wadded them up into little nests and put them at the edge of the canal. At least I do not have to replace every single piece, but there is some damage and I have to unbend them all.

So, stay tuned for the return of the "Bells" in August.

Visitations, Natural and Otherwise

Rhode Island, specifically on the Pawtucket/Providence city line , experienced a freak hail storm last week. I am originally from Nebraska, and I know bad things happen when a cold front and a warm front meet(i.e. massive tornados). I had been on the phone with a friend when I thought I heard a very heavy rainfall coming. My cat knew better, and with a swift trot, made a beeline for under the bed. In the next moment it was as if Mother Nature dumped an ice chest over my house. The street became a river of ice,when only moments before it had been reaching 80 degrees inside. Big and little pellots of ice. It lasted for about 20 minutes. I went outside afterwards and even my car was dinged a bit. The ice stayed in the yard until a warm rain in the evening.

So you can imagine what I thought happened to the little tin bells at the the North Burial Ground. I feared the worst, but I had made extras for natural and human disasters. I went the next morning to check on everything...and almost everything was fine and tinkling like normal! Just a few blew around here and there. What I found very curious were the human interventions. One bell was wrapped in knots and replanted, half its size. In a few spots someone gathered surrounding bells an planted them together. In the very back there was some vandalism and I started to think of the movie "Yellow Submarine." Have you seen any Kinky Boot Beasts in the area?

The bells also naturally (or maybe supernaturally) catch onto each other, forming pairs. Maybe some companionship has formed underground and is reaching upwards?

Cryptic Providence opens tonight, 5- 10 PM

I planted approximately 1,600 "bells" between last night and this morning. The video to the right was made at around 7 PM last night with the installation in progress. More footage will be up this weekend if you miss experiencing them for yourself.

If you live in the area, the opening is tonight with live performances, a film and tours of the cemetary. Please join me and all of the other wonderful artists who have created work for this historic site in Providence, RI. Click on the link for ArtTix to the right for more information and schedule.

Just me, the birds and the June bugs

Well, I needed to wait for the grass to be mowed, so I started this evening, which was just fine. I had an idea it would take me at least 4 hrs. to set up the larger part of the field. It took me a little longer than that, and I still have a tiny bit tomorrow, but I'm not so off the mark.

A cemetary is not just a place for mourning the dead, as it provides a natural respite within the city for wildflife. This became more apparent than normal as I was setting up and could be quiet and observe. I felt besieged by Robins. The grass is so dry, I could not figure out what they were eating until dusk and I could take off my sunglasses. Apparently it's mating season for June bugs and they were having a lovely time in the grass! There are many other birds besides Robins who make happy homes in the trees and bushes. I have seen Junkos, Rose Breasted Grosbeaks, Grackels, Starlings, Chickadees, Pigeons and a Blue Heron to name a few.

By the time I shot a little bit of video with my Cannon Elph, the windy part of the day had died down. It was too bad, as there was a lovely tinkly and tinny noise, just what I want. The heat had finally gone down and the moon was just rising overhead. I really enjoy looking at this installation by taking thr long view...in the distance of the field, the bells begin to look like floating stars or fire flies. It wasmy intention to make a piece that not only made sound, but was visually potent. I love viewing and listening to sound art, but when the technology breaks, or the parts don't work anymore, is it still art? I wonder this often when I view installations in museums. I don't wnat anywone thinking that with mine!

Today I begin to install all of the bells. I finished early over the weekend, much to my surprise! I always try to add another 20% to the time frame of a project. There is always something unforeseen. Hopefully not tonight!

To the right is a calendar on which I will post when the installation is up, and when it is not. The field where it is installed needs to be mowed several times a month. I have some very generous volunteers already, but if you would like to help out, please contact me!