“Sit Here”! The sign is a welcome invitation for every one but the fact is that some public spaces or places feel like barbed wire. To illustrate this point we have wrapped a camping chair in barbed wire and photographed the chair in a variety of public places. At each location, people looked at the chair and with very little explanation immediately got the idea. Then we printed those pictures plus topical words and phrases and weaved them between the barbed wire. Check out the following pictures and text and feel free to comment at the bottom of the page.
"Public" Park
Everyone welcome?
What about people who...?
Is public space really public? Or does it exclude certain people?
"Public" Lands
Everyone welcome?
What about Black - White people...?
"Public" StreetEveryone welcome?
What about Women - Men...?
"Public" Libraries
Everyone welcome?
What about Educated - Uneducated people...?
"Public" Access
Everyone welcome?
What about Homosexual - Heterosexual people?
"Public" Entrances
Everyone welcome?
What about people with certain Disabilities - Abilities?
No access for everyone at this door.
Some people must go all the way around the building to the North West Door.
"Public" Schools Everyone welcome?
What about Rich – Poor people...?
Everyone welcome?
What about Religious - Secular people...?
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Copyright© 2013 Don Lever and Michael Rybin, All Rights Reserved.
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This is a courageous project ! I love this chair ! And it makes an excellent point, especially regarding public parks. If we refuse to enforce vagrancy laws and allow our parks to be taken over by the homeless, they become parks for the 1%, from which the other 99% feel excluded. And what does it say about our society, when the wealthiest nation in the world allows its insane and drug-addicted citizens to live on the street or linger in dismal shelters? The barbed wire seat of this chair was for me a powerful visual reminder of how miserable the lives of the homeless are, and of how arrogant, hypocritical, and inhumane are the politicians who allow them to live this way, claiming disingenuously that the homeless are free to choose their own "lifestyles", and that this national tragedy has been caused by a shortage of low-income housing. I commend you for shedding light on our society's cowardly refusal to address this problem honestly.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely makes you think about what 'access' really means or how propelling it can be to a professional career. The chair really serves as a symbol a group of somethings that were designed to serve particular functions, but don't and end up worth nothing. The prickling feeling I imagine getting when sitting in the chair is pretty close to what minority groups feel on a day to day basis.
ReplyDeleteA very compelling project. Kudos!
This is a very interesting project you guys are working on. I think the chair with the barbed wire serves as a strong symbol as to what it represents and how it is viewed by society and how public spaces are engaged and used by people.
ReplyDeleteGood Job!
I like your project, especially the symbolism of the chair. It perfectly represents the biggest thing I dislike about public spaces, which is the "all are welcome as long as you do things our way" mentality.
ReplyDeleteI live by a large area of city-owned public land, which caters to cyclists and hikers, but discourages and even outlaws all other uses. It is a version of your chair that covers hundreds of acres. "Public" only to the clique for whom it was purchased. All others stay out!
This project does a great job of drawing attention to the fact that many members of society, while supposedly welcomed and tolerated, are not. This applies to both our physical presence in public spaces as well as the intellectual and emotional tolerance we encounter in our public communities. In any milieu where there is a prevailing attitude or ideology, whether it is a liberal university or a highly conservative church, you are only welcome if you agree to meekly sit in the chair deemed just and righteous by that group, regardless of how comfortable, welcoming or honest you might find it.
ReplyDeleteI like how this project presents a wide array of ideas under one banner or theme. It is thought provoking and engaging in a very visual way. The barbed wire was an especially potent symbol of oppression and restriction and by wrapping it around a chair, it successfully brought the two conflicting ideas in contrast with each other to outline your point. All in all a very good observation and an effective way to communicate it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting juxapositioning of comfort and pain, and good thought-provoking questions regarding what "public" may or may not actually mean or include. I like it.
ReplyDelete