BODIES OF WATER: SOMEBODY— NOBODY
University of North Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Sept. 28 - Oct. 26, 2014
Part One
September 28 - October 12, 2014
September 28 - October 12, 2014
Part Two
October 12 - October 26, 2014
October 12 - October 26, 2014
Weeks One and Two: On the library’s pond, parts of Emily Dickinson’s poem about being a “Nobody” were written on the water. The familiar words of that poem’s opening line – “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” – appeared to float upon the library’s pond, reflecting vividly in the light of day (yet disappearing entirely in the dark of night). While inside the library’s stairway, the first line of the poem’s second stanza — “How dreary – to be – Somebody!” — was also written, spatially staggered between the first floor to the fourth.
Weeks Three and Four: After two weeks, there was a pared-down revision of the words on the water, a new formation in which the original two-part question “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” was radically reduced, with just the single large words “Somebody” and “Nobody” made to intersect at the center of the pond. Inside the library, a similar reduction occurred, such that all that remained of the previous sentence were the two small words “to be –” suspended alone (as if into thin air). With this new arrangement, the words “to be –” were then seen in direct relation to the “Somebody | Nobody” intersecting out on the pond, as bodies of water overlapping in motion, bodies of water crossing in time.
Weeks Three and Four: After two weeks, there was a pared-down revision of the words on the water, a new formation in which the original two-part question “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” was radically reduced, with just the single large words “Somebody” and “Nobody” made to intersect at the center of the pond. Inside the library, a similar reduction occurred, such that all that remained of the previous sentence were the two small words “to be –” suspended alone (as if into thin air). With this new arrangement, the words “to be –” were then seen in direct relation to the “Somebody | Nobody” intersecting out on the pond, as bodies of water overlapping in motion, bodies of water crossing in time.
Related Article:
Emily Dickinson International Society Bulletin (Nov/Dec 2015). Vol. 27. No. 2: 16-20.
Emily Dickinson International Society Bulletin (Nov/Dec 2015). Vol. 27. No. 2: 16-20.
Many thanks to all of those who assisted with this installation: Michael Boyles, Michael Dimmitt, Noah Lunberry
and, in particular, Kelley Predieri, out in the kayak.
and, in particular, Kelley Predieri, out in the kayak.
Copyright © 2015 Clark Lunberry. All rights reserved.