SIGN LANGUAGE
New outdoor exhibit at UConn puts a twist on political lawn signs
Typical political lawn signs are emblazoned with the names of candidates: Biden, Harris, Trump, Pence. Not the lawn signs at University of Connecticut. The signs, a temporary outdoor art installation, are emblazoned instead with issues, fears, calls for action, warnings.
“More doctors, less politicians” “Too much, too soon, too little, too late”
“No one gets it right, but we all gotta try”
“Because competence isn’t too much to ask for”
Luke Seward, who just received his MFA in video and installation at UConn, is curator of the exhibit, which he called “Silk Flowers” to symbolize the artificiality of much contemporary discourse. “At this time in history, we don’t know what’s true and what’s real,” he said.
The volatility of the current political climate, and the sudden inundation of lawn signs in front of homes, impressed on his mind the use of signage as a competition. “People I didn’t think were very political all of a sudden had this intensity, this attitude,” said Seward, a Kentucky native who lives in Willington. “Some small signs, some large signs. Some signs were used as retaliation, a visual polarity.”
Still, after a while, the signs became mundane. “I stopped read
ing them and all I could see was color, like Coke and Pepsi signs,” he said.
Seward called on 13 artists to create more nuanced political and social commentary.
“Maybe a political message could be poetic in a way,” he said.
Most of the works in the exhibit don’t mention candidate names. Still, from reading the issues that concern them the most, it’s easy to discern where the artists’ sympathies lie.
The overall message, however, is simpler than mere ideology: it’s the need to vote. As Katy
Garth depicts in one sign, “because we should use every tool we have.”
Garth, who lives and works in Philadelphia, steals the show with 12 signs, each describing a reason to go to the polls. “Because I can vote and so many other people can’t.” “Because queer people should not have to live in fear.” “Because government shouldn’t go to the highest bidder.”
Seward said he checks on the artworks various times throughout each day to make sure they have not been damaged. One of Garth’s was targeted early in the show’s run. Her sign “Because there is no such thing as a blue life” was pulled up and thrown facedown on the grass. Seward re-installed it.
Garth’s message is clearly progressive, but in her artist statement, she also expressed frustration with liberals. “I’m exhausted by the inability of the left to articulate its most urgent needs without first undermining its own viability,” she writes.
Paul Collins of Tennessee contributed about a dozen signs, whimsical, colorful, all shaped like animals, with the simple message, “Vote.” “He used animals because they’re attractive and universal,” Seward said.
New York artist Shannon Finnegan’s issue is access to resources for people with disabilities. She created a series of signs showing a search engine looking for websites that offer these resources. “There is are so many disabled people and disability-led organizations sharing vital and insightful information online. But it can sometimes be hard to find if you don’t know where to look,” Finnegan said.
David Borawski of Hartford filled 12 signs with the letters THE END IS NEAR. Seward said the message may seem grim, but it also can be viewed optimistically. “We’ve known this slogan for many years. It doesn’t have to mean Armageddon. Maybe it means the end is near for systemic racism,” he said.
Arien Wilkerson, a Hartford native who now lives in Philadelphia, focuses on LGBTQ identity. One of his signs shows two Black men kissing, with “VOTE” written on their faces.
Breanne Trammell used slogans she found in the university’s Alternative Press Collection, which has a collection of political buttons from the 50s through the 80s: “Ask yourself questions,” “How Many More?” “Is there a tomorrow?”
Some artists broke away from the sign format to create signs with objects that aren’t signs.
Alejandro de la Guerra, a native of Nicaragua who is a visiting fellow at UConn’s School of Fine Arts, uses pup tents covered with inspiring slogans, such as those used during the Occupy Wall Street movement, as his “signs.” “Words have history and memory in these tents, but the layers of paint that cover the words evidence the attempt at censorship,” de la Guerra said in an artist statement.
Joe Bun Keo of Hartford uses a folding table covered with stickers as his “sign.” The stickers read “women belong in all places decisions are being made,” “I voted by mail,” “#HateIsAVirus.”
Keo said the work “is about how visual commodities like stickers and car air fresheners promote an idea and is often used to display and reflect the ideology and philosophy of person whose object belongs to.”
Other artists in the show are Emmy Bright,, Suzy González, June T. Sanders, Kalyn Barnoski and Brianna Harlan. Artworks have QR codes on them that lead to each artist’s website.
“Silk Flowers,” timed to coincide with the election, is up for a little over two weeks, until Nov. 16. Seward, who is the interim director of the campus’ Contemporary Art Galleries, said the lawn-sign theme fit well with the campus’ COVID-19 protocols.
“The Contemporary Art Galleries is a small space. We can’t have any exhibits inside,” he said.
The exhibit can be seen anytime of the day. The art is in the empty garden beds on Fairfield Avenue, starting at Gampel Pavilion and ending at the rear of Oak Hall. Visitors are asked to wear masks and keep six feet away from students passing by and others viewing the artworks. Details: contemporaryartgalleries.uconn.edu.