Abstract

This project explores the dichotomy of the ambitious hope and realist precarity in the chase for the American Dream. The audience drops a coin down the wishing well funnel. Its path is scattered by the golden rods,  resonating the air with the sounds of church-like wind chimes. The coin either falls to safety in a nest, its presence sensed by an embedded microphone which triggers an LED to mark its arrival. Otherwise, the coin is buried in a pile of dirt, its demise amplified by embedded microphones.

Research

American Dream's inspiration comes from the culturally-important textiles, experimental knitting and traditional basket-weaving. The textiles of my Polish heritage were the original inspiration. Experimental artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Louise Bourgeois and Ruth Asawa gave me the concept to work in sculptural dimensions and to think beyond the thread when I composed my piece. The baskets of Hopi and Kickapoo tribes and traditional Polish handiwork (particularly with pine needles) inspired the final form of the nests. The starting point for the project was exploration of conductive thread. I was interested in using connection points of a woven textile to tell a story in a digital format. After further reflection, it became clear that a more analog format would better tell the story that was forming for me around the American Dream.

Technical Details

The project took a largely analog format, despite initial explorations with conductive thread and digital storytelling through Unreal. The funnel is made with a 24x24 inch piece of petg plastic; we focused two hot air guns on the center and pulled on the center to create the wishing well funnel. The brass rods vary from 1/16 inch to 1/2 inch in diameter and measure between 1/2 and 1 foot. The nests are made from floral wire for the shape, and found pine needles from Prospect Park. Woven within each basket are symbols of the American Dream: Social Security cards, American passport, and American $100 bills. At bottom of the piece is a pile of dirt; the sound of the coin hitting the dirt is amplified by a few contact mics attached to a piece of acrylic which is hidden beneath the dirt. The coins were provided to the audience -- all silver, and of the American valuation of quarters, dimes and nickels.