|
Ann Stoddard astoddard@net-site.com |
|
homebiovideo segmentsexhibitions |
The Political Economy of Side Chairs, an installationThe Political Economy of Side Chairs invites viewers to test the premise that a display case can bring one closer to their contents. As if to prove the exception to the rule, the open sided display case acts to bring a viewer closer to their contents. In The Political Economy of Side Chairs, a pair of antique chairs rest on a mound of red clay and broken brick, surrounded by 4- 6’x 7’ transparent panels, inscribed with line graphs, positioned sideways. The case appears to be a museum display of period furniture in which a display case elevates and distances its contents: a pair of Queen Ann chairs The transparent panels open at the sides, while their zig zag inscriptions- positioned sideways- suggest lightning bolts whose shadows cast metaphorical flamestitch patterns over the chairs’ yellow upholstery. Documenting 18th century economics on the tobacco coasts of Maryland and Virginia, line graphs from Alan Kulikoff’s Tobacco and Slaves (displayed vertically on each of the 4 sides) draw connections between the chairs and the tobacco/land/slave economy that made them affordable. Metonymic of the blood of enslaved African Americans and of stolen Native American lands, red clay erases boundaries as it spreads under the square perimeter and through the open corners of the display case. On closer inspection, montage layering of economic statistics and material history deconstruct the display case effect to challenge white upper class versions of U.S. history, suggesting that even a display case cannot sanitize certain facts. The Political Economy of Side Chairs is intended to be seen from all sides in order to allow viewers to experience the montage layering of texts, chairs, clay- and to form their own responses. Conceptual art tools- reinscription and recontextualization- involve viewers in a process of inquiry into connections and the discovery of shared histories. This installation grows out of a search for connection that began in childhood trips to museums to view art and historical dioramas, as well as trips to Civil War, Revolutionary War, and Hopewell sites. |