The Sky is Falling

I  spent a month this summer at an artist residency, the Jentel Foundation, in northern Wyoming. I worked on a series of site-specific durational performances and interventions, all under a thematic umbrella, “The Sky is Falling.” I made objects to represent shards of a broken sky and wisps of falling clouds, and filmed myself hauling the pieces of the fallen sky back to the top of a hill and trying to replace them, and trying to hold up the sky, or falling under the weight of the falling sky.

The expression “the sky is falling” comes from the story about Chicken Little.  In the story, an acorn falls on Chicken Little’s head.  Frantically she tries to convince her neighbors that the sky is falling and doom is imminent. Some interpretations of the tale see it as a warning not to panic, or spread unfounded rumors.  Other interpretations of the tale portray Chicken Little as a hero, unafraid to speak her mind and determined to save her community. This is the part of the story that sticks in my head. Though we are living in a time when our daily lives are impacted by climate change and fear about our future, I want to do work that emphasizes our potential to repair our planet and rekindle wonder and awe at the complex diversity and infinite beauty of our planet.

I also felt the weight of the sky, the wide and blue Wyoming sky, metaphorically. I have been going to residencies this past year, finding new places to work and working to find a way to work through my personal grief over the death of my husband, Bill Kimbel. The days are heavy, I look for meaning. Making art about issues that are larger than myself feels worthwhile.