A Thousand Words

In order to convey the vibrancy and diversity of cities, we created a mural of a city skyline composed entirely of text in many different languages.

Each person has a different method for making buildings. We culled the words from foreign language dictionaries, song lyrics, and poetry. Each member of the group created several buildings, which we compiled into one image atop a subtly swirling background made up of the word city repeated in a multitude of languages. The result is a mural that captures the essence of metropolitan communities.

I used lyrics and poems that somehow relate to a city, some in French, but mostly in English. Each building is made by layering the words again and again until the image began resembling an inky lithography of corrugated cardboard. I made ten buildings by pasting the words over each other again and again until they created the impression of a building. The effect was something like rolling ink over corrugated cardboard, which is particularly relevant to my work.

I assisted with the process of compiling the final piece, though James did most of the work for that step. I wrote the artist statement for the group. I hemmed and grommeted the mural with Cody, James, and Andrew. I supervised the installation of the mural on Wednesday morning.