It all started a few days ago when, walking back from a meeting on Centre Street I noticed that one of my favorite Mount Vernon attractions was now completely fenced in with gold chain link fence. I started to wonder what was going on, as I’m sure did everyone else that usually walks their dogs there, admires the beauty of the park, eats lunch there, etc. I have to admit I was a little ticked about the park being closed, especially when the weather was just starting to turn.
I think that’s just what “they” wanted me to feel. It turns out that “they” is actually a senior student at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and the gold chain link fence is his senior project. His mission is: “through interactions created by the context of the temporary gold fencing, visitors are encouraged and possibly even forced to ‘re-see’ and ‘re-consider’ Mount Vernon Place from an alternate perspective.”
I don’t know for sure yet, but I have a feeling that what he’s trying to do is to make people appreciate and use public spaces more by using the deprivation method. He was probably hoping that the exhibition would create some controversy – and it did…Check out the coverage in the Baltimore Sun HERE.
If you’re interested, walk on by the Washington Monument and check it out. Or visit www.goldchainlinkfence.com.
Art? You decide…
Garret Ohm
www.orange-element.com
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