Week4
Isabella Siegel Professors Paul Farber and Matt Neff Monument Lab 02 October 2017 Public Statements, Writing, and Visual Narrative My last week at Monument Lab, at Penn Treaty Park, was full of conversation about public interactions with the monuments. I was struck especially by the spectrum of conversations about Duane Linklater’s “In Perpetuity.” This was not about appreciation for the piece – the monument is universally appreciated, and many even expressed their love for its presence in the park. The differences that I found were in how people wanted to best take care of the monument, and their different interpretations of how it would best suit the park. The main point of contention was the idea of a fence – some wanted a fence placed around the monument, keeping people away from destroying it. Others did not like the idea of this fence, thinking that it would act as a barrier (both visual and physical) between the public and the public monument. There was also the issue, which I find the most interesting, of the tagging that has now filled the wrought iron around the statue and its base. A woman named Juana, who was full of energy and excitement about the project, approached our lab in the middle of our shift. She brought along with her ideas that she had been discussing with the elderly at the home where she worked. “We had an idea for a huge ark, like Noah’s ark, for the kids to play in!” She described the idea for the project with enthusiasm, and had a clear appreciation for creative public projects. She also had ideas about “In Perpetuity.” “You know,” she said, “the teenagers, they come, they smoke marijuana, and they graffiti the statue! It’s awful, to see such a beautiful statue filled with that. I think you need to put a fence around it, to keep that kind of think away.” The differences here are interesting between “In Perpetuity” and “Plainsight 20/20,” the project by RAIR just a few hundred feet away, which is in fact surrounded by a fence. The artists have worked the fence into the idea for the project, but originally, the fence was mandated by their insurance policy. The statue has
remained clean of tagging and any other public interventions, while “In Perpetuity” has been tagged, has been damaged by stolen wire, and the generator has been broken multiple times. A couple hours later, a Mural Arts tour leader that I had met before came up to the lab. I had gone on her tour of the “Love Letters” project, designed by former graffiti artist Stephen Powers. We talked a little about “In Perpetuity.” “I think it’s just beautiful,” she said. “And I love how the graffiti around it echoes the words of the piece…it’s gorgeous.” This was a completely different perspective than we’d been offered before. “In Perpetuity” has taken the handwriting of Linklater’s daughter, and frozen it in time, in bright neon tubes. Her calligraphy, the cursive of a young schoolchild that is also the daughter of a Native nation, shines in the night, as well as stands like a beacon over the Delaware river during the day. The words of the piece are of the leader of the Lenne Lenape tribe at the time of the Penn Treaty, with their promise to uphold their end of the deal with William Penn. The graffiti that surrounds these words, while mostly illegible, is similar: it’s scrawled, but carefully articulated in its curves and loops. Graffiti artists also are often working subversively. The illegality of their tagging is a statement against authority. Linklater’s piece is similarly subversive. He references this statement in memorial to the tribe, who were displaced. His statue, and his daughter’s handwriting, question the authority of the law. The graffiti around the edges of the monument will surely give rise to many more reactions, with many different opinions. It is important to recognize all of those opinions, as people have different views on tagging and what it means to respect a piece of public property and public space. Some see tagging as a reflection of a human experience, as an expression of self and a necessary freedom of speech. Others see it as a mark of deterioration and disrespect. It should also be noted that none of the tagging (thus far) was found on the face of the sculpture itself. I want to continue to investigate interactions that people have with public art, through conversations, but also physically, and how they determine the visual patchwork of their public spaces.
Graffiti tags next to Dwaine Linklater’s In Perpetuity. Photos courtesy of Austin Huber.