Tiempo de la Tierra
Lawrence, Kansas 2021
Assisted by Missy McCoy and Ardys Ramberg. With help from Andrés and many community volunteers
“Tiempo de la Tierra,” roughly Earth Time in English, portrays the planet and the precarious position we humans have put her in.
On the large east facing wall of Cottin’s Hardware Store, an image of the earth (inspired by a NASA photo from 2020) dips down from above with North America at the center. For many, it will look like the earth is upside down with north at the bottom and south at the top. Viewing the planet from this uncharacteristic angle presents the possibility of reorienting ourselves to the place we all live without the assumptions and regional discriminations that come baked into nearly all modern images of earth. Under and around la Tierra, and bearing its magnitude, are native and ancient plants that transform into constellations and galaxies as they move outward from the center. On the adjoining south facing wall, a giant cosmic hourglass marks the diminishing time for threatened species on our planet. At the top, we see animals that still have a presence but are endangered (including an aloof Homo Sapien), while at the bottom are ones that have already become extinct, including some that were lost due to human interference. Check out the accompanying zine where you can add your own colors to the mural. (In June of 2022, a new version of this design was installed as a part of Kansas City’s annual Art in the Loop program )
In Good Standing Amidst the Powers that Be, 2002
I am grateful to my assistants Missy McCoy and Ardys Ramberg for their help and for their remarkable mural, “In Good Standing Amidst the Powers that Be,” which guided my thinking when beginning this project. Thank you to Linda and Tom Cottin for their collaboration with and confidence in me. Thanks to all the folks who work at Cottin’s who were integral in helping the project run smoothly. Thanks to Brett Ramey, Kim Brook and Dr. Dan Wildcat for their brilliant offerings at the mural celebration. And a special thank you to all who helped paint, especially Andrés. Your work and companionship are what made this project truly special.
