High concept: Historic
figures contemporary with and/or inspired by Henry Thoreau pithily comment upon
the zeitgeist of this cross-subcultural movement predicted by the late Howard
Zinn in his Chapter 12, 'The Coming Revolt of the Guards', of 'The
Twentieth Century' (itself excerpted from his 'A Peoples' History of America'),
wherein he foresees (he calls it a hope, not a prediction) the 'guards'-----professionals,
academics, and a whole panoply of those in manipulated service to an
ever-divisive status quo orchestrated by the 1% wealthy class----finally
coalescing around their commonality of interest and their common exploitative
adversary.
And, whilst this struggle
is hardly new (Marx, Engels, et. al. 's spark of violent revolt having merely
replaced oppression using other descriptive names), what is new is Zinn's
prescience in being the first to employ 'the 99%' to describe these people,
inclusive of their 'guards', and the '1%' at perhaps ten years before his
'hope' became realized.
I propose window exhibits,
all rather simple, featuring excerpts from this Chapter 12 aforementioned,
featuring a life-size 2D or 3D effigy of Howard Zinn, perhaps with intended
shackles in hand, espousing his detailed collective hope, seen variously
teaching, then joining then, in 'death' smiling upon its realization.
Along the 'way' of this progression simple foam boarded and weatherized
placards invoking encouragement from other deceased prophets, prominently
featuring Thoreau, Sam Beckett, Edgar Poe, et. al. whose quotes will suit our
time-------calling to mind the staying power of such an antithesis to its polar
opposite, change, as the 'status quo' whose Latin name shows it to be an
obvious yet normalized (by everyday usage by all) enemy of the 99%. This
time, with the aid of spirits such as MLK and his mentors Thoreau and Ghandi,
violence will be the sole device of the 1%, insuring the inevitable favorable outcome
of the genius of their model of civil disobedience.
Here's a link to that
Chapter, in part, where he uses these now extant terms:
Attached are some
suggested placards.
MAYBE need more visuals and details to clarify elements arranged in storefront(s)
ReplyDeleteDefer. This artist in in a current exhibit at the GCCA Catskill Gallery. I'm finding he has a hard time manifesting his ideas as visuals. Good and interesting ideas, but he comes off as more of a writer/thinker than a visual artist.
ReplyDeletewill defer to fawn
ReplyDeleteIf concise - noting above comment from Fawn - namely he tightens this down thematically and spatially - could have legs. But this would require more collaboration,which may be outside our scope.
ReplyDeletedefer. More info and/or visual examples needed. There were attached placards?
ReplyDeletemaybe
ReplyDelete