Stories of Home Public Art Project
In September of 2005, I began the Lincoln Arts Council's Stories of Home public art project. The project paired twelve artists with twelve families that represented the diversity of ethnicities, religious affliations, lifestyles, and income levels within the Lincoln community. Each artist was given creative license to interpret his or her family's narrative. Upon completion, the sculptures traveled to multiple venues that included private homes, community centers, libraries, and performing arts spaces.
This is the sculpture I created to tell the story of the Baier Quenzer family, a same sex couple and their adopted Native-American son. The piece is made up of three parts: the feet, box, and house structure. I realistically rendered each family member's feet in clay. I was interested in the details and small nuances that make one's feet their own. Feet are universal: they are what we stand on, what grounds us, what allows us to move through this world; they are a record of who we are and where we have been.
The box I created references the home, similar in scale and decorative motif to a couch or ottoman. It reinforces the home's sense of intimacy and private space and elevates the family grouping. In addition, the box has the double function, acting as a crate during transport throughout the project. All the components of this piece can be broken down: once disassembled, the house and feet fit neatly within the hinged box.
The house structure is made of copper tubing and provides a place of rest for the family alluding to both protection and exposure. This frame also suggests the presence of Barb, Lin, and Robbie's body's while commenting on the invisibility of gays and lesbians within the community.
The sentiment of this project is captured in the old adage, "you can't really know someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes".