Even though many of you are far from Philadelphia, this art exhibit by beautiful MamaCITA artists (from left) Julie Mann, Karen Hunter-McLaughlin, Brenda Howell, Kimberly Mehler and Janice Cha-Hayes needs to be shouted from the rooftops.
One Year is an exploration of the public apathy towards rising urban violence. Through the creation of hundreds of sculptural wire vessels– one for each murder in Philadelphia in 2012– One Year conveys our sorrow at the numbing of society towards this epidemic.
Every victim leaves behind a mourner: mother, father, loved one. One Year is a memorial to both sides of the tragedy. The wire creates beautifully intricate shapes to portray each loss as a complex individual, while each vessel’s shadow speaks to the inter-connectedness of victim/perpetrator, mourner/mourned, body/soul. Installed together, the sheer number of deaths is undeniably devastating.
Karen generously answered a few questions about their project recently.
How long have you been working on this project?
The project, from inception, has been in the works for over two years now. We've been heavily involved in making the vessels, and running workshops to allow the public to participate, over the course of 2012. And our partnership with Mother's In Charge (MIC), our Leeway Foundation Art & Change grant partners, has been going for a little over a year. We've had many art mentoring sessions with at-risk young women, and we've just started working with the grief support group there. They will be contributing vessels to the installation.
You ran workshops to draw people into this project. How many people were involved in the making of the vessels? Were any of them personally affected by murder?
There were well over 80 participants from the age of 8 to over 70 who have created vessels. There were a few students from Cheltenham High School who have had a particularly bad year with student deaths, including one from violent crime. There were several participants who created vessels in honor of a lost loved one.
How many murders were there in Philadelphia in 2012? Will you be able to exhibit that # of vessels in the Painted Bride show?
As of this interview, according to http://phillypolice.com/about/crime-statistics, the homicide rate is at 316. We will have at least 300 to show at the Painted Bride. The remaining numbers will be displayed in a conceptual manner consistent with our message. The full amount will be shown at our end-of-year installation (which will be completely different from the Painted Bride show) during the Philadelphia Fringe Festival at the Rotunda on the University of Pennsylvania campus in September of 2013.
I love the symbolism of the wire vessels - I liken it to the human skeleton. What drew you to this imagery?
There are many reasons behind our choice of medium. Black, annealed, steel wire creates a delicate sculpture from a difficult medium. The vessels created are uniquely individual, much like those individuals lost to violence this year. Though it's important to note that we are not trying to memorialize each individual with each vessel, that's not the message of this work.
Do you think about the possibility of taking the idea of this exhibit to other cities in the US?
Yes, we've been in talks with VAN, Visual Arts Network, for the past few months. They are a network of socially aware galleries throughout the US– here in Philadelphia, the Painted Bride and the Asian Arts Initiative are members.
Thank you, Karen, and all of the artists of One Year.
Show information
The Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street, Philadelphia; 215-925-9914.
January 1- February 8
First Friday Receptions: January 4 & February 1; 5-7 pm
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