“Stay Silent” By Zoe Lauren Higginson
Write On Site 2016
"A Conversation Amongst Logs" By Ryan J. Pratt
[Lights up on three structures. To the left, Untitled (Log Stand 1); in the middle, Untitled (Log Stand 2); to the right, Untitled (Log Stand 3). This is the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art.]
Log Stand 1: (In a thick British accent) Hello, I’m Untitled, but you can call me Log Stand 1.
Log Stand 2: (In a sweet, motherly voice) I’m also Untitled, but you can call me Log Stand 2.
Log Stand 3: (Totally disinterested) …Yada, yada… call me Log Stand 3.
LS1: There are three things you should know about us. (LS3 turns to look outside.) One: We are all from the same tree. A tree that was knocked down a little while back due to safety concerns.
LS2: (Continuing) Two: We are all separate pieces of contemporary art created by Virginia Overton.
LS3: …
LS1: *Ahem*
LS2: (Whispering) Three!
LS3: Oh, sorry, I was just waving to Untitled out there. How you doing Suspended Log?!
LS1: Oh my goodness!
LS2: Three was just going to say how we are on display at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art.
LS1: There’s even a sign. A little sign in the front of the room.
LS2: Back to what we were saying. We each represent a multitude of ideas, depending on the mental angles from which we are viewed.
LS3: Whoah, slow there. I thought we represented the precarious balance of humanity and nature.
LS1: Must you always! We represent the emotion and movement involved with life and death.
LS2: No, no, no. We represent every idea. We exist not as a representation to enforce a certain idea, but as an abstraction to guide thought. We can represent any meaning that comes to mind.
LS3: I think I’m right. The literal answer is usually right.
LS1: On the contrary, this is contemporary art. Metaphysical answers always prevail.
LS2: Good grief, you're both right! Now I’m gonna stop talking because I see that I’m getting nowhere with you two.
LS1 and LS3: (In unison) Fine.
"Balance" By Todd Benson
Three metal stands, a wooden limb in each.
The wood, weathered and broken,
The metal, dull and lifeless.
There was a time when each limb coexisted,
Bound together by a sturdy base, rooted firmly in place.
Now each limb rests upon its own base,
Balancing atop a fixed, metal point.
The suspended logs once a part of nature,
The steel bases forged by humankind.
The scale can be tipped so easily, giving way to
The Greatest of All Calamities.
If the metal pole were to fracture,
The log would fall to floor.
If humanity were to step out of place,
Nature would come tumbling down.
But for now each wooden limb floats steadily in place,
Supported by an unfaltering, unyielding, unimaginably indefatigable,
Metal stand.
"Dying Leaves and Bamboo Trees" By Zoe Lauren Higginson
Today, we stare at dying leaves.
Leaves that once belonged to bamboo trees.
But now,
They’re yellow, flakey and dry,
And have lost all hope of seeing that sky.
So far is light of day,
Yet still they lay
On cut trunk of tree,
Only covered in light of the UV.
Today we stare at dying leaves,
Leaves that once belonged to bamboo trees.
“Log Stands” By Todd Benson
Standing under these historic limbs, letting my eyes wander over their weathered exterior, it feels as if I am in a museum many years from the present time, looking upon the remnants of what was once a flourishing population. The setup of the three tree limbs supported by metal stands resembles that of a museum exhibit. Their sheer size is almost overwhelming to the point where I am reminded of a time as a young child, when I walked beneath the ancient bones of colossal dinosaurs in a great museum.
In addition to serving as a time portal, Virginia Overton’s “Log Stands” act as a symbol for nature and humankind. Each log balances on a metal stand, the dry tree limbs symbolizing nature while the steel support represent humankind. Nature’s fate rests in the hands of humanity, and the balance can easily be upset.