Welcome to the Marcellus
Marcellus Shale Hex Signs: A Modern Pastiche
Hex Signs in the tradition of the “Fancy” Pennsylvania Dutch invoke protection and abundance. They are talismans sighted on barns and in homes, reminders of grace and stewardship. By using the framework or grid of a traditional Hex Sign and reshaping the iconography these new Hex Signs pose questions about our community and contemporary culture.
For whom is the land of Hydro- Fracking the land of plenty? Does the Environmental Protection Agency protect (our common or private land and water) or is it hampered by people, politics and politicians whose personal gain (abundance) thwarts the protection of the people and the land.
The seal of Pennsylvania alludes to world commerce, rich natural resources and wealth of human talent in its symbols of tall ships; plow shares, and wheat sheaves. A contemporary local version of this could be pipelines, natural gas, and labor. The Pennsylvania State counter seal (reverse) illustrates Liberty vs. Tyranny, stating “Both Can’t Survive”. In the Marcellus Shale region individuals have the liberty to make choices that impact the whole community. Is tyranny born from choices made for the one and not the many? Where is our personal responsibility to the balance of protection and abundance?
For whom is the land of Hydro- Fracking the land of plenty? Does the Environmental Protection Agency protect (our common or private land and water) or is it hampered by people, politics and politicians whose personal gain (abundance) thwarts the protection of the people and the land.
The seal of Pennsylvania alludes to world commerce, rich natural resources and wealth of human talent in its symbols of tall ships; plow shares, and wheat sheaves. A contemporary local version of this could be pipelines, natural gas, and labor. The Pennsylvania State counter seal (reverse) illustrates Liberty vs. Tyranny, stating “Both Can’t Survive”. In the Marcellus Shale region individuals have the liberty to make choices that impact the whole community. Is tyranny born from choices made for the one and not the many? Where is our personal responsibility to the balance of protection and abundance?
Do you Buy It?
2014
6'2" x 5' x 24"
steel, wood, made and manufactured objects
6'2" x 5' x 24"
steel, wood, made and manufactured objects
Handshake Deal
2014
11'4" x 14' x 28'
cast iron, steel
11'4" x 14' x 28'
cast iron, steel
Jeffers Tree Farm, Well Number #5
Springville Fracking Well and Pond
Fracking Studies
View Finder
VIEW FINDER
The Tunkhannock Area Middle School sits at the base of the largest Marcellus Shale Natural Gas play in the nation to date. Estimates of the natural gas contained underground continue to grow and development of the “play” ( exploration, drilling, and transportation pipelines) is in evidence everywhere. The region has received worldwide news coverage regarding reports of water contamination. Residents, local municipalities, conservancies, and business are in a battle of support and opposition to the natural gas drilling know as “Hydro-Fracking, or Fracking”. The communities and families along these roads are divided by the growth of this industry, as they have been in many other instances by industry in the region. This project was conceived as a vehicle in the community and in the surrounding communities to talk about the intricacies of the situation. By deciding to start in the school I began to work with the Art and Tec Ed faculty in their classrooms, we started a conversation with the students about the correlations between industry and community. What would it be like to be 11 years old in 1896, and would you be in school or in a mine or mill, what does your community look like? We asked them to investigate a “view” they could visually express. We laid out a plan to build this “View Finder” together as a traveling interactive sculpture. The students produced the collages on the wheel as a visual dialog of the past, present and future. The middle school students surprised us with a real lack of information about the Marcellus Shale, regardless if their parents worked for the industry, had leased land or not, or lived near a well they didn’t have many facts, but they did know their community and in some cases their daily experience was changing, some couldn’t sleep because there was a well working 24/7 by their house, some lost a view of a hillside they had known all their life, some saw disagreements that divided families, trucks rolled by houses for weeks on end. We recorded those experiences and conversations in the videos. Additionally we asked people in the community to respond via post card and relate what was changing, for better or for worse on their street, in their immediate area.
“View Finder” was exhibited at the Tunkhannock Founders Day festival, with a backdrop of community pride and water trucks and drilling equipment rolling down the street, we invited visitors to leave their thoughts on index card in the card catalogs. We continue to add images and artifacts to tell these stories and we invite you investigate and participate with our “View Finder” spin the wheel, open the drawers, take a post card and send it to a friend, or fill out an index card and leave it with the project to share your voice.
The Tunkhannock Area Middle School sits at the base of the largest Marcellus Shale Natural Gas play in the nation to date. Estimates of the natural gas contained underground continue to grow and development of the “play” ( exploration, drilling, and transportation pipelines) is in evidence everywhere. The region has received worldwide news coverage regarding reports of water contamination. Residents, local municipalities, conservancies, and business are in a battle of support and opposition to the natural gas drilling know as “Hydro-Fracking, or Fracking”. The communities and families along these roads are divided by the growth of this industry, as they have been in many other instances by industry in the region. This project was conceived as a vehicle in the community and in the surrounding communities to talk about the intricacies of the situation. By deciding to start in the school I began to work with the Art and Tec Ed faculty in their classrooms, we started a conversation with the students about the correlations between industry and community. What would it be like to be 11 years old in 1896, and would you be in school or in a mine or mill, what does your community look like? We asked them to investigate a “view” they could visually express. We laid out a plan to build this “View Finder” together as a traveling interactive sculpture. The students produced the collages on the wheel as a visual dialog of the past, present and future. The middle school students surprised us with a real lack of information about the Marcellus Shale, regardless if their parents worked for the industry, had leased land or not, or lived near a well they didn’t have many facts, but they did know their community and in some cases their daily experience was changing, some couldn’t sleep because there was a well working 24/7 by their house, some lost a view of a hillside they had known all their life, some saw disagreements that divided families, trucks rolled by houses for weeks on end. We recorded those experiences and conversations in the videos. Additionally we asked people in the community to respond via post card and relate what was changing, for better or for worse on their street, in their immediate area.
“View Finder” was exhibited at the Tunkhannock Founders Day festival, with a backdrop of community pride and water trucks and drilling equipment rolling down the street, we invited visitors to leave their thoughts on index card in the card catalogs. We continue to add images and artifacts to tell these stories and we invite you investigate and participate with our “View Finder” spin the wheel, open the drawers, take a post card and send it to a friend, or fill out an index card and leave it with the project to share your voice.
Delivery Pipes