Suspended Together

I am always ranting to my students about using beauty to draw the viewer in.  A great concept doesn't change the fact that your work is going to be viewed from 15-20 feet away at first glance, and you need to find a way to make someone actually look at what you've done. Once you pull them in, have something interesting going on.

Suspended Together, Manal Al Dowayan

Suspended Together has that potential. Here is the artist's statement:

“Suspended Together” is an installation that gives the impression of movement and freedom. However, a closer look at the 200 doves allows the viewer to realize that the doves are actually frozen and suspended with no hope of flight. An even closer look shows that each dove carries on its body a permission document that allows a Saudi woman to travel. Notwithstanding their circumstances, all Saudi women are required to have this document, issued by their appointed male guardian.

Suspended Together, Manal Al Dowayan

The artist reached out to a large group of leading women from Saudi Arabia to donate their permission documents for inclusion in this artwork. “Suspended Together” carries the documents of award-winning scientists, educators, journalists, engineers, artists and leaders with groundbreaking achievements that gave back to their society. The youngest contributor is six months old and the oldest is 60 years old. In the artist’s words, “regardless of age and achievement, when it comes to travel, all these women are treated like a flock of suspended doves."

You can see more images here: http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/02/suspended-together/