Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Disintegration

Seth at The Altered Page has set up an interesting project: Disintegration Collaboration. Not being much of a social person meant that I ignored his general invitation but made the mistake of mentioning it to Susan. She immediately remembered the certificate I had started to distress a few years ago with my daily used coffee filters. They did a good job of staining the certificate but then what was I going to do with it? It waited for me to decide while Susan stuffed it away in a pile of papers. Disintegration, Susan said, was now the solution.

The next question was where to put it. My back yard had the perfect answer: Inside this nameless welded sculpture. Nameless, like I was to the corporate headquarters who knew me only as a 6-digit employee number. Inside, where I held back the knowledge that I did have, that I had been tested on, that I knew backwards and forwards, but inside where I kept it because few people trusted that I really knew what I was talking about. Inside the gut of this sculpture because every day for 32 years I started out with a knot in my gut, hating what I did for a living.

The certificate was rolled up and pushed up the middle. Symbolic? When I let go, it was held in place by the tension of the paper unrolling. More symbolism? How long will it take before nature takes my piece of paper away from me? Seth set a general endpoint of May 1. We'll see.

8 comments:

Seth said...

Hey Don. So glad that Susan convinced you to join in. That certificate was just waiting to be part of this. Thanks for sharing the story behind your idea too...it will make the reeval on May 1 even better!

Judy said...

Oh how brilliant!

magpie said...

see, what i take from this post is: tell me what to do with my money????

Don Madden said...

Seth - glad you started this.

Judy - Thanks!

Magpie - Put it under your mattress. If you always had, Bernie Madoff's friends would have been laughing at you 2 yrs ago but who's laughing now?

ArtPropelled said...

Interesting post! Sad that you had to endure 32 years of something you hated but I suppose that's the story of many.

Mary Buek said...

I love that sculpture. Did you create that? It's the perfect image for way so many people feel right now, that coiled spring in their gut. And for the way so many people in corporate America feel every day, if they are still employed. Powerful message, thoughtful insight.

studioJudith said...

Great story - great concept for your bundle ... . . Judith

Mrs Pretzel said...

LOVE the symbolism.