Christmas Tree as Monument

Defining monument as a form of memorial erected to remember something worthy of notation, I have been considering and toying with the potential for the Christmas tree to act as a medium to point to the impermanent monument. The tree, when real versus artificial, is a time-sensitive object that decays quickly in comparison to other objects prone to dilapidation. The season in which the tree is erected as a monument to Christ is also brief in the scope of the entirety of the year. The potential the artificial tree holds to show dilapidation is explosive. The use of light and reflective ornament in embellishing the tree show the ephemeral: the reflections in the objects are changing constantly as the outer surroundings constantly change. Many ornaments on trees are uniquely personal- small monuments to events such as baby's first Christmas and ornaments dedicated to the deceased. The monument of the tree is also surround by ritual and correlating sound. Both ritual and sound are commonly associated with memorial and monument.

Text Works versus Monument

A great difference exist between two bodies of work I have been creating this past year.

For my text works, I have struggled to discuss them in context of visual art because they are more in the trajectory of prose, poetry, and the liberal arts. The use of visual elements are not to create discussion on text as art but rather to emphasize the meaning of the prose and poetry.

The monument and object works function more in the space of sculpture and installation art. Their concern of what is precious links them to my text works. However, the monument and object works also address the issues of time and space, the inseparable two. These works have a physical presence that questions and confronts while the text works use the space of the brain to confront and question the viewer.

Pictured is a text work titled Reflection. This prose resulted from reflecting while staring at mausoleums reflections in the body of water adjacent to Wade Chapel in Lake View Cemetery. Lake View Cemetery is a Victorian cemetery located in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the home of the Garfield Monument and Rockefeller monument.

Destruction/ Construction

Through constant exposure to construction and destruction in University Circle, this impermanence of architectures and city scape are inspiration to my work. Seeing buildings erected and old buildings demolished illustrates the temporal nature of existence. The University Circle district and the Euclid Corridor are going through a multitude of changes and additions. Inevitably, being part of this transforming area results in inspiration and influence on my artistic practice.