There Are So Many Beautiful Moments to Come
Heifner, Wilamina
2021
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For many, art can be
the catalyst for healing, personal, and—subsequently—societal
transformation. Mental health is a place of research and a source of inspiration in my
art practice. The human mind is a magnificent thing, yet it is incapable of
understanding the entirety of itself in any one given moment. I find that the
personification of animals makes it easier to understand ourselves. I ... read moregrew up with
stories that seemingly tried to contextualize fragments of humanity; Jan Brett, Aesop,
William Steig, and more tell tales of personified animals embodying human experiences.
As I get older, the tortoises and the hares become more nuanced and layered, yet, in
their complexity, they mask the truth of their identity. It is my goal to strip these
characters back down to expose the truths they have to tell. Just as in There Are So
Many Beautiful Moments to Come, spotting a crow outside of fiction can be a good sign.
Whether it’s a conditioned behavior or an act of gratitude, crows are known to
give gifts to humans that are kind to them. These gifts come in the form of beads,
bottlecaps, paperclips, buttons, lost earrings— just about anything small, shiny,
and colorful that they can find. In this piece, the crows flying toward the pile have
wrapped objects in their mouths. Whereas the one flying away from the pile is empty
beaked, having already deposited its gift. Inside each parcel is an object that a crow
would gift and a handwritten encouraging message. The wall text invites viewers to
unwrap an object and take it with them. The installation and the crows’ gifts
serve as a reminder to viewers that life is worth living and that they are deserving of
special moments. In this time-based, interactive piece, crows— typically symbols
of death— are subverted into smiling creatures bringing treasured moments of
life.
Scale: Sizes Variable (crows are 19"x12"x6")
Materials: Stoneware, Acrylic, Found Objects, Ink, and Paper
Keywords: Ceramics, Ceramic, Animal Sculpture, Sculpture, Installation, Crows, Crow, Corvid, Gifts, Gift Giving, Interactive Installationread less - ID:
- qn59qj584
- To Cite:
- TARC Citation Guide EndNote
- Usage:
- Detailed Rights
