Rooted in the memory of the Holocaust and the current atrocities in central Africa and elsewhere, Hallowed Ground is an artistic way to combat indifference, intolerance and injustice specifically as they relate to the worst crime against humanity; systematic genocide.

The Installation

Hallowed Ground is an artistic, sculptural interpretation of a mass grave.

Imagine the number of human beings that would fill a mass grave – hundreds of life-size bodies, young and old, several bodies deep filling a volume approximately 25’ long, 10 feet wide and 8’ high. This scenario reflects the infinite number of lives lost throughout the darkest periods of human history. While Hallowed Ground bears the weight of the worst crimes against humanity, witnessing Hallowed Ground is somehow transcendent and almost peaceful because the bodies that create the mound of the ‘mass grave’ are produced from a translucent resin, each illuminated from within and softly glowing -like a thousand auras of eternal light.
To create the human forms 3-d scanning technology will capture the faces of living relatives of those who perished. Hallowed Ground, in turn, becomes a living tribute to the lives lost and remembered.

HEALING THE WORLD:

Hallowed Ground is intended to create awareness of, and thereby combat, systematic genocide.

While revealing the ugly reality of mass graves, Hallowed Ground also reveals the beauty and hope of the human spirit. It will inspire prayer and action and will become a physical, international prayer for peace and it can help create closure for individuals who still wrestle with the pain of lost loved ones.

METHODOLOGY:

Hallowed Ground is more than a monumental work of art it is an artistic vision that uses the process of creating art to help deliver its message.

Hallowed Ground is divided into two phases. Phase I, code name Project Barbie, is for planning and development. (This phase engages middle/high school students.) Phase II is the execution of the monumental work which can be accomplished as a fundraising tool for any organization whose mission is to combat genocide.

From the first stages of planning to the day the final monumental work of art is unveiled Hallowed Ground is intended to engage students and adults and provide a learning tool for the communities that embrace the project and choose to become involved.

Typically every monumental sculpture starts as an idea which is sometimes rendered two dimensionally or sketched 3-dimensionally in the form of a maquette, a 3-dimensional study. Very often the maquette becomes a work of art in its own right. The maquette for Hallowed Ground is the first challenge; the maquette requires the help of students.

Project Barbie

To create the maquette for Hallowed Ground schools and community centers are invited to become collection centers. To execute one maquette for Hallowed Ground 600 Barbie and Ken-type dolls, including the baby-sized versions of these toys, are needed. They can be in disrepair.

A collection bin is placed at the venue.

Once collected, the dolls are numbered and bound into a single body of bodies in a long shape, resembling the volume of a mass grave.

IMPLEMENTATION:

Schools can participate at different levels from simply placing a bin in a central location to incorporating Project Barbie and Hallowed Ground into their Holocaust/genocide curriculum.

Collecting the dolls:
The act of collecting and processing the dolls is full of curriculum opportunities from vocabulary development, to observational writing assignments, i.e.… notating the physical characteristics of each doll that is collected, including information as to where it was found.

Building the bins:
Students can build the collection bins. This activity may involve the school woodshop as well as the mathematics department, i.e. what is the appropriate dimension to accommodate the volume of 600 dolls. This exercise illustrates the number of ‘professionals’ required to facilitate and accommodate real world atrocities.

Art project:
Students can design and create a collective art project:
The shorn hair and or discarded clothing can be worked into a visual project to be displayed alongside the artist’s final maquette.

Creative writing opportunities:
The act of hunting for the dolls, and ‘processing’ them will surely inspire profound dialog.
Students can be asked to keep diaries, or write plays, essays or poetry reflecting the visceral experience of participating in Project Barbie.

Project Barbie offers a student the opportunity to not only gain an understanding, but also ‘make a difference’ and help create awareness for past and present acts of genocide and related crimes against humanity. Like Hallowed Ground, Project Barbie is intended to combat indifference, intolerance and injustice and further challenge those that disavow the truth.

7/23/07