Sites Miami 2004

Sites-Miami 2004, in Lummus Park, Miami's oldest city park, is next to the Miami River and across the street from the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple and, within a stone's throw from downtown. Aside from the greenspace the park has two historic structures on the grounds: The William English Plantation Slave House, c. 1844 and, the Wagner homestead, c. 1957. The preserved Slave House is the only testament to Miami's two decades of plantation enslavement of Africans. The Wagner home is the oldest surviving home in the county and its history tells of a German -- William Wagner -- who in 1855 came to the remote pioneer community so he could live openly with his black wife, Eveline. With these structures and park providing the context for site-specific art, it would seem a difficult task to create something that would be appropriate there.

32 Artists exhibited work throughout the park and across the street in the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple. Not all of the work took into account the dynamic of the park and its history (a former shuffle-board club with over 600 members) yet, the majority of the works created a new dynamic that the public (local and not) seemed to like. Some works were definitely available only at night. Michael Betancourt's light-projected image was seen by your author on opening night and, was one of the most successful. His "ghost" image projected onto a white sheet of nylon moved in the wind and had a lifelike feel to it.

Robin Griffiths large suspended wood stumps had a more energized and dramatic viewing with its central location and intense lighting during opening night. Still it seems to be forced into the air, not float, by ropes and chains that will not let it touch the ground. Its will must submit. That is exactly the dynamic one assumes between master and slave, “…by my command you must obey.” The five-hour struggle necessary to hoist this behemoth says a lot about the process of slave punishment. An example, though not because of a human’s shear weight, body mass, nor gruesomeness, would be the recent traveling exhibition, “Without Sanctuary,” lynching photography in the U.S.

Other works take a bit more playful or, less serious look at the possibilities of the site. The collaborative work of British artist Tahu Deans and US artist Brad Downey offers a surfacing submarine through the park's grounds reminds us of the location and asks us to believe it made a wrong turn navigating the Miami River. The multicolored reflective markers in a large circle even seems to offer children a maze through which to walk, run, and play. Guerra de la Paz offers some reconciliation in the park’s central circular space with a series of handholding, headless figures offering a bright color wheel of hues. Anonymous more than decapitated, the simple yet, poignant, statement sums all that is seem there until 16 Jan., 2005. More artists than I've mentioned are exhibited here. Don't let the date pass by without checking it out. (Editor's note: submarine previously incorrectly identified as the work of Pip Brant.)