October, 2010REDUX Contemporary Art Center, Charleston SC
As part of a new collaborative art project, called the Planning Committee, Bob Snead and I developed the basic
structure for this mural and then asked people involved in the organization to submit a brief description of their ideal
living situation. From those ideas, we built a city, suburbs, farmland, and desert hippie outpost along with the utility
infrastructure (including food, water, sewage, electricity, and pornography) to support them. Throughout the course of
the week of painting the mural, we developed a narrative of a city in the midst of a cold war. The Fundamentalist
Hippies (deemed "The Cult") that live in a former missile silo on the edge of town have waged a media campaign
against the sins of pornography in the city, encouraging people to join the silo and forsake their pornography. Only
few know that the Cult is actually the main supplier of that utility, and that buried deep in the silo is a weapons cache
intended for a hostile takeover of the city.
PRESS RELEASE:
"Under federal regulation 11.47532, Redux Contemporary Art Center is required to announce the construction of a new
city in paint on the exterior facade of 136 St. Philip Street. Groundbreaking began during the night of October 9th,
2010 and construction continued around the clock until October 16th, 2010. The Planning Committee (Seth Gadsden
and Bob Snead) dedicated countless hours to the plans of this city which represents the interests of the current Redux
community: studio renters, staff, interns, board members, patrons and anyone else involved in the organization. The
Planning Committee is open to public comment and is committed to building a city of unparalleled significance."
Link to this project on the REDUX website.
More detail images of the mural.
