abbykk: what i did all weekend

chauncey bailey is not someone i ever met. i did not read anything he wrote until after he died. i did not even become a resident of the place he was born and the place he died until after his murder. but, i found myself compelled by his work, his story, his life, and his death.

he died on the sidewalk around the corner from my new apartment. he went the the mcdonald's every morning that is at the end of my block. everyday, he walked down 14th st. to work. he poured his heart and soul into this city, believing he could make a

difference by sharing information, telling the truth. his work gave hope. he died for it, because of it. he is a saint in my book. i would have not known this, would not have engaged his legacy if i did not paint a chair in honor of him. i probably did not do his legacy justice, but his legacy has changed me.

for my liberation art class, i painted five chairs, the last of which as finished last night, in honor of five (well, eight) modern saints and prophets. these chairs will be used as a part of a ritual at be

rkeley technical academy tomorrow in conjunction with Youth Spirit Artworks.

in this process i have engaged with history. personal history, community history, even the history of the objects i painted. we chose the saints and prophets we painted, from a list that the our class that the YSA group came up with. i chose people i was drawn too, but also people i wanted to learn about. i wanted to wrestle with the legacy these folks left behind, looking at ways that i live into or against that legacy. memory and history is important to be conscious of. everything embodies it. we embody it in even interaction we have. our space bleeds it stories, or objects accumulate them on their surface. the history of the chairs i painted impact my design by limiting it or encouraging it based on the chairs physical characteristics.

From the to down, my chairs are dedicated to:
chair #1...
chauncey bailey