March 2010 updates

Putting Layers on the Onion was on display in Columbia College Chicago's library from October 9 till March 8. Carol Ng-He's C(l/r)aving and the Stockyard Institute's Musical Chairs were the other two installation pieces which were also on display in the library.

I appreciate the opportunity that the Columbia College library gave to me, so Putting Layers on the Onion could be seen in a different location and to meet the public in a different context. Particularly, Jan Chindlund and Larry Oberc were really helpful, and there were several student workers who helped with the installation and de-installation processes. The library has lots of interesting artwork on display throughout the year, including 2D and 3D works by Columbia students and faculty. A library is an important cultural institution; it's great that students, staff, and faculty can contribute to an artistic experience in a library. (The Edible Book Festival is another example of how people have innovatively explored how the space in a library can be used.)

Now Putting Layers on the Onion is at Bethesda Home. I am excited that Bethesda Home was interested in having the piece move there. Tom Neiman, a teaching artist who has been facilitating art classes with residents at Bethesda Home, worked with elderly art students; Bethesda Home residents contributed several modules to The Synesthetic Plan of Chicago. On March 8th Ruth Werstler, Director of Resident Life and Community Integration at Bethesda Home, helped me transport Putting Layers on the Onion to Bethesda.

I look forward to finding out how the residents at Bethesda Home -- as well as the staff and residents' family members and friends -- interact with the piece. I'm a fan of intergenerational arts programs and the creative aging movement, and it will be interesting to how the Onion develops and changes in this new context.


Tom Neiman and Ruth Werstler, with Putting Layers on the Onion in Bethesda Home's lobby

Here is a selection of recent "onion layer" contributions --

In the city of the beautiful stone,
where ivory towers glow warm in the sun.
I am reminded of an important truth:
Some beauty is born of transience
Some born of epochs past
But nothing lasts forever.
(beige paper, curry)


In between the millions of people
& miles of concrete... it's good
to see plans and flowers and
art.
(yellow paper, sesame seeds)


An all nighter, then a
morning of work.
As I walk down the street --
my eyes hurt -- then I
smell the Japanese restaurant
starting the cooking for
the day -- and I burp
(orange paper, garlic salt)


FRIENDS 4 SALE
Listening to jazz
over feeling blue
with the only coconut
I love...
WILL I AM
(dark blue paper, coconut flake)


The sewers
smell
(blue paper, sunflower seeds)