Community Pillars
CONCEPT: We are all familiar with the epic battle between good and evil depicted in the fictional world of film and literature. It is not just fiction however. We as people construct social structures around ourselves. We govern these structures with “ethics.” The problem with ethics is there is not just one source and every source is subjective, making the concept of “good and bad” subjective. We need to actively and thoroughly explore these concepts to truly understand them, or like Grandma’s unpracticed and unrecorded recipe, the original meanings will be lost. If we expect our children to understand what “good and bad” really means we must set the example of knowing its true meaning.
DESCRIPTION: The Community Pillars take their form from the inspiration of the communities “Peace Pillars” courtesy of Muneer Bahaudeen. They explore the concept of Duality; the curve edge representing one side and the straight edge representing the other, while the vase as a whole represents their co-existence.
15 blank Community Pillars were distributed to 15 kids. Each Community Pillar is approximately 24 inches tall and 8 inches deep and made of pre-fired clay. The kids were given acrylic paint and brushes, but before painting commenced we had an open discussion about the topic of “duality.” The kids were then instructed to separate their Community Pillar into 2 halves and prompted to begin painting in response to the discussion. |
Anthony Mau
LOCATION: Our Next Generation, 3421 West Lisbon Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin PARTNERS: Neighborhood children |