Occupy My Soul! Art About What Matters

While my monotypes are showing in the trendy Old City section of Philadelphia, far removed from Occupy activity, this over-lifesize panel that I painted on mylar as part of Elise Luce Kraemer's collaborative community project, Occupy My Soul, is one of the panels currently being exhibited at Friends' Center in downtown Philly.  The project will be comprised of 99 large panels inspired by the Occupy Movement. Each panel includes a figure representing an Occupier, with a quote provided by an Occupy member. (In this case the quote is by Alyson G., someone I don't  know.) Together, the panels create a dance, which will be even more apparent when the 99 panels are finally joined to form a quilt or tent in support of the Movement.  It is a joy to make art about what matters,  and a good feeling to collaborate creatively with Elise and all the other people making panels for the project!

Here is a video of Elise talking about Occupy My Soul and showing some of the other panels.  It gives a sense of the variety, scale, and concept.  (I forgive her for calling me Susan Roberts in the video..)

OccupyPhiladelphia occupies my mind

This child's play tent, complete with toys, continues to occupy my thoughts.  What a vivid picture of why the Occupy movement is a force for social justice and social change.  What kind of world are children and grandchildren of the 99%  growing up in?  And what kind of world do we want them to grow up in! I was there for an event at the Interfaith Tent:  our Rabbi, Linda Holtzman, spoke about the scriptural basis for taking action to repair the brokenness of the world.  In a nutshell: 100% of us are created in God's image, not 1%.  A "renegade Baptist minister" also spoke, who had actually been occupying for 29 days.  He said, "If you really want to know what this is about, come down and participate in some conversations.  Listen to what people are saying."

The young people who were staffing the Interfaith Tent were an inspiration.  They had just had their tent stolen that day, along with sleeping bags and sentimental items.  Fortunately they had homes to sleep in that night, but were determined to keep on keeping on.  They were stressed but undaunted.  They couldn't imagine doing anything else, being anywhere else.  Our group was able to connect them with someone who wanted to donate a tent.  So it goes.  I feel hope for the future because of having met them.