I was hoping to be able
to get a last photo of my work at Bartlett Yards, the
site of the former MBTA Bartlett Bus Yard in Roxbury, MA, because I was curious
about how it weathered over the summer. But, I received this message last
night:
"I have some sad news for you. As you know, we've had an ongoing
vandalism problem and many of the works have been damaged. Unfortunately, none
of your pieces survived. The curtains on the windows covered in plywood made it
almost all the way to the end, but about a week ago someone ripped them down.
Sorry to have to tell you this, but the whole place is going to be torn
down soon anyway so it was inevitable.”
Here was my reply:
"Well,
that's not the first time my work has been stolen! Actually, it's the second
time. I'm not surprised, seeing that you mentioned there was a lot of
vandalism. Oh well. I hope whoever took it enjoys it. PLEASE don't think
I'm angry about it. It's part of the process of doing public art, and I'm OK.
It's just a shame that things like that happen."
Above
are pictures of my work after they were installed at Bartlett Yards in May. There are additional images on my website. The two window coverings
were attached to two boarded up windows. The surrounding work on the walls is by Juan
Santos. The window coverings measured 48" square, not including the
bottom, scalloped edge. They were made of monoprints of the grids of
construction fences on fabric, which was coated so they were weather
resistant.
I actually made three coverings, but I only needed
two in the end, so the third is hanging in my studio.
I’m glad that I still have one at least.
I'd
like to say thank you the organizers of Bartlett Yards for all that they did to make the project happen. It was really an
incredible experience for the artists and the community. I hope to be able to
participate in a project like that again.
UPDATE: I found out that the fabric on the windows was ripped off so they could tag the wood underneath it. So while it wasn't exactly stolen, it was vandalized to make a space for someone else's art. Not very nice, but that's still part of the risk of exhibiting public art. Sigh.
