Landscape of Enough

This is a project proposal sketch/collage for a show called Human=Landscape I just (ie. 10 minutes ago) sent out the proposal for.  I'm really excited about this project idea.  Even if I don't get into the show, I'm still going to make it happen.  Here is my proposal write-up (in case you're curious what a "landscape of enough" is):

"…most people believe in and operate from a psychology of scarcity and lack."

-Laurence G. Boldt

Changing climate and landscape have forced upon us the realization that we have too much yet we believe we don't have enough. Abundance has exploded out of our control, destroying things we don’t know we appreciate until they have changed or disappeared. This includes mass produced disposable goods, natural ecosystems, as well as value for human creativity and knowledge. “Too much” becomes “enough” when we realize that everything we want, we already have. This awareness, and the engagement of creative problem-solving, can manifest as a landscape of enough, revealing the inherent beauty and function in what we already have. This means appreciating our waste too.

A Landscape of Enough: I will build a miniature “Landscape of Enough” using mostly found and recycled materials along with non-toxic, renewable materials (e.g. paper, wood, play dough, etc.) The mostly abstract aesthetic will mimic an organic Vermont-like rolling mountain-scape built on top of and around modular structures (like scaffolding or an abstraction of architecture made from things like toothpicks). It will incorporate 3D space (e.g. miniature forest-like assemblages) and 2D space (e.g. wall painting); contrasting spaces that we increasingly grapple with in the changing landscape (e.g. billboards and hillsides). The landscape will be about chest-high and curve out from the wall so it can be viewed from within. The main lighting will be one or two small spotlights (referencing the sun or unnatural lighting like car headlights) attached to small motors and slowly moving, bringing the installation to life with changing highlights and shadows.

I propose this landscape as a manifestation of true abundance, a concept about utilizing what we already have to create something beautiful and functional without destroying what we start with. It will be a beautiful yet ghost-like tribute to Vermont's evolving face- its past, present and future-- and to suggest that this evolution is at a critical point of incredible potential: the potential to pool our infinite resources toward a healthy co-existence of nature and change.

Good Night!