FAR BAZAAR 2017 . Association of Hysteric Curators . #HOMEECONOMICS 
January 27 & 28 2017

 

MEG MADISON
PAST & PRESENT: BOULDERS

 

“The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple enough to believe him was the true founder of civil society. What crimes, wars, murders, what miseries and horrors would the human race have been spared, had some one pulled up the stakes or filled in the ditch and cried out to his fellow men: "Do not listen to this imposter. You are lost if you forget that the fruits of the earth belong to all and the earth to no one!” 
― Jean-Jacques RousseauThe Social Contract and The Discourses

Past & Present: Boulder was a site-specific project at Boulder House in Pioneertown/Yucca Valley. I photographed boulder(s) to isolate them from the landscape. Then I returned with the photograph (s), and re-located the boulder (s). Then I marked the location coordinates, measured the front face of the boulder as shown in the photograph (the yellow line), measured the circumference of the boulder, and cataloged the specimen with a letter, and a name referring to a past or present desert inhabitant.  I noted the catalog letter, name, and measurements on a label that was applied to the photograph or “field document”. This “field document” was hand stitched with linen thread, there was a yellow line across the boulder to indicate mans interaction with the land, there was brown line across the width of the picture to indicate the topography of the land.

Past & Present: Boulder includes a participatory walk where visitors can find the boulder in the photographs with an accompanying Google map.

For more info on Past & Present Boulders