Picnic Island

I used to ride the bus to school everyday. The mornings were always a little chilly, and I was usually awake before the rest of the city. It would take me more than an hour to get to IUS which is only a 20 minute car ride. But that was okay. I always enjoyed listening to music or reading a book in that time, or sometimes I would even make conversation with the people getting on the bus with me. 

In the dark mornings, alone, in my little seat by the window, I would fall asleep and wake up just before getting to school. I would always open my eyes just before passing Picnic Island.

I never payed much attention to it before they cleared out the rest of the land, but after the other trees were gone and the land around picnic island was lower, thats all I cared to pay attention to. I dreamed of having lunch there and taking my friends out for dates to enjoy the magic of picnic island, but years later after she's been bulldozed, I think it's better that she only exists in my memory and the dream of her will never actually be tainted by a real life expierence. Picnic Island can only ever be magical to me.

Since first seeing Picnic Island, I've wanted to draw her and finally the opertunity came. For the obstructions project my task was to incoporate a 2D image with clay and a landscape. So I took that quite literally and made an homage to Picnic Island by placing my drawing in her landscape.



I went out to place my little drawing where I thought Picnic Island used to stand but after standing back, I'm not sure where it used to be now that the land has changed so much.

I think there could be a lot more said about this project, on how the drawing is just slip on greenware and how it will go back into the earth after sometime, or maybe we could have a conversation about preservation and the industrial housing market, but for now I just want it to be about magic and finding happiness in little gestures.

I've attached the song that was playing in my head while I was dropping the drawing off. I've must have sung it 20 times during that process. It's childish and fun and isn't meant to be apart of the piece but I hope it gives some insight to the little magic I get from remembering Picnic Island.


 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mffPmElSc-c


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