Description of work: "C'ood: a democracy experiment" is an outdoor participatory project based on searching for the common good. Our diverse nation doesn't share a common cultural background with a long history of what “culture” should be, like most other countries. This experiment tests whether art might help us see the beauty in our search for a common cultural identity.
Viewers enter a circular tunnel covered with free form weaving, walk around inside the weaving or move into a central open space. The tunnel of metal arches covered with fencing attached to a wood floor is woven with T-shirts donated from all over Michigan. The shirts are cut into strips then woven into the fencing. Texts from the shirts are recorded on the floor. Each of 5 entrances is woven with one color then, as the weaving merges around the tunnel, the colors intermix. The open center area is surrounded by mulitcolor weaving.
Navigating the unfamiliar space along with other viewers, one participates in this democracy experimen |