The Wave

We had a fabulous Opening Night party last night. Many thanks to the volunteers, contributors and musicians who made it a wonderful event. We will be open Sunday (Halloween) and Tuesday (Election Day) from 1-5 p.m. After I stop racing around I will post hours for the rest of the month of November.

In the meantime, for those who can't come see the art in person, here is a picture of The Wave, as I am calling the DVD sculpture. The following is the "artist's statement" I posted next to the artwork:

The Wave

By Lucinda Naylor,

in collaboration with two thousand households.

Media: Repurposed DVDs.

These discs originally carried a divisive message sent in the name of the Catholic Church, seeking to block the civil rights of same-sex couples. I say sent in the name of the Church, but not the Church I know. The Church I know is inclusive, not exclusive.

For fifteen years, as artist-in-residence at the Basilica of Saint Mary, I used whatever materials I could scrounge from a budget-strapped liturgical department to create art for all the seasons of the church year. When I heard about these DVDs, I thought “Free art materials! I’ll turn them into art.”

I put out a call on Facebook, asking people to donate their DVDs to my project. I called it DVD to ART.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

The first DVD arrived in a bag of bagels. People slid DVDs through by mailbox, passed them to me in the pews, threw them into collection boxes outside several churches. They sent them to Return The DVD with notes saying “Turn me into art.” Church workers passed them along, laughingly, “under cover of night”. Over and over, I heard, “Thank you for changing this message into one of love.”

Some DVDs came broken, scratched, written on: “Return to sender, offensive material.” “Not in my name.” “You are not alone.” Repeatedly they quoted Jesus: “Love one another, as I have loved you.”

Thank you to everyone who passed along a DVD.

The Wave is about the Spirit of inclusion and love, which is sweeping though the Catholic Church as it continues to change, as usual from the people up to the hierarchy.