The American Dream Returns to the Earth
Joseph Kattou
3.5′ x 4′
Rotting White Picket Fence, Moss, Oil Pastel
The white picket fence, one of the ultimate paragons of the American dream and a symbol of exclusion. The fence denotes a property line, one that you may not cross freely, a proud exclusion of the outside world. This segment has been harvested from rot, the deteriorating slats become a canvas for the suppressed America.
Beyond the death of this toxic symbol of Americana there is hope that the original Indigenous identity, practiced concepts of stewardship and community can re-flourish into the future culture, leaving behind the rigid American dream. Allowing it to be free of the self imposed rigidity of the past and regain fluidity.
All symbols used originate from the Taino, the Indigenous people of the Caribbean where colonization of this land began. Their symbols representing their deference to the natural world, carved eternal into rock and caves. A permanent symbiosis with the land rather than the conquest a fence would denote. As the barrier rots and returns to the earth it now does so with a memory of its former natural state and those that stood sentinel over it, the memory of them resisting decay, beyond death their descendants persevere. The unsustainable symbol laid to rot.
Joseph Kattou
The American Dream Returns to the Earth
Joseph Kattou
3.5′ x 4′
Rotting White Picket Fence, Moss, Oil Pastel
The white picket fence, one of the ultimate paragons of the American dream and a symbol of exclusion. The fence denotes a property line, one that you may not cross freely, a proud exclusion of the outside world. This segment has been harvested from rot, the deteriorating slats become a canvas for the suppressed America.
Beyond the death of this toxic symbol of Americana there is hope that the original Indigenous identity, practiced concepts of stewardship and community can re-flourish into the future culture, leaving behind the rigid American dream. Allowing it to be free of the self imposed rigidity of the past and regain fluidity.
All symbols used originate from the Taino, the Indigenous people of the Caribbean where colonization of this land began. Their symbols representing their deference to the natural world, carved eternal into rock and caves. A permanent symbiosis with the land rather than the conquest a fence would denote. As the barrier rots and returns to the earth it now does so with a memory of its former natural state and those that stood sentinel over it, the memory of them resisting decay, beyond death their descendants persevere. The unsustainable symbol laid to rot.
Dear Joseph,
Your heartfelt narrative is beautifully expressed. The picket-fence (as wholesome an ‘American’ symbol as apple pie) is an ideal object for conveying your historic insights and future visions. This work could make a terrific contribution if you reconfigured your manner of conveying these ideas. For example, instead of (or in addition to) overlaying each fence board with painted imagery, could you encourage to actually, materially, literally decompose. Perhaps this decomposition can take place outdoors on land where corn, or some other plant that represents native culture, could thrive in the ruins. This would show the triumph of indigenous cultures over the territorial rights claimed by Europeans and their descendants.
Please let me know if you follow up with these suggestions. The concept and your choice of materiality are compelling.