Architecture of Memory
Under the curatorship of Studio Art Prof. Michael Gaynes, the students of ART340: Ceremonial Vessel Project hosted the exhibition “Architecture of Memory” in the Andrews Gallery, featuring details about Hearth: Memorial to the Enslaved. The memorial was based on a concept by former W&M architecture student, Will Sendor ’11.The exhibition explored the origins of various parts of Hearth’s architecture.
THE UNITY VESSEL
'This project proposes celebrating the history and resiliencey of African Cereamic Arts by using a perforated unity vessel as the centerpiece for the W&M Hearth Memorial.
Rather than using multiple culturally specific symbols, this proposal recognizes perforated vessels as a unifying material culture common through coastal West and Central Africa. It is hoped that connecting these architectural elements will allow observers to reflect on the role of W&M in preserving enslavement as an institution and prospering from enslaved labor. The plinth supporting the vessel will be inscribed with a quote from John Lewis, "You are a light. You are a light."...reinforcing the fact that unity involves focusing those thousands of individual lights together and towards a worthwhile cause...'
[excerpt from the 'Unity Vessel' display board]
