Celebrating the Love Activation
On Sunday, September 28 I arrived an hour ahead of our start time to Pedro Park in downtown St. Paul to set up the Love Activation with artist Sean Lim. Sean is an illustrator, screenprinting artist, community organizer and activist who was bringing a postcard-screenprinting operation to the Love Activation. They were busy getting their tents set up at the eastern end of the park, and I walked over to say good morning.
The day was bright and sunny with lovely weather in the mid-high 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The newly-created park’s grass was bright green and the flowerbeds, which I later learned were tended by residents of downtown who lived nearby, were lovely with various shades of purple, orange, pink, reds and greens shining in the foliage. There were a few people already in the park enjoying the day. A worker rode up on a utility vehicle bearing the speaker setup for our audio; we chatted as they set up the PA equipment, connected the power and tested the Bluetooth connection. A short while later as I began setting up my sculpture, several people came over to ask if there was an event today. When I told them of the Love Activation, they expressed wishes that they could attend and everyone who chatted with me said it sounded like a really wonderful event.
And it was!
I conceived of this love Activation in 2011.
I was in a public place in Washington, D.C. waiting for a friend, and there were over 100 people milling about. I think it was a courtyard of a big museum, if memory is correct. And as I stood there I wondered what might happen, inside of me or outside of me, if I sat and meditated on love and projected vibrations of love at people around me. I wrote some notes afterward, and the idea was born to invite people who don’t know each other to connect in loving ways in a public space, even if it’s through a completely silent meditation or sending love to one another.
Over the years I brought in my theories of active love practices (informed by the study and scholarship of bell hooks, who has taught me and many many other so much about love!) and imagined it as a non-sentimental experience. Instead of the sweet, sentimental love, I wanted to invite people to engage with active love practice so they could really connect from that place of shared humanity.
So many other people made it possible for this event to happen.
In addition to being thankful that Sean Lim wanted to collaborate with me, I am grateful for Boo McCaleb, another local artist who does amazing light and projection art. (If you’ve been reading along for a while, you might have seen Boo’s interview with me last summer, published on this blog.) Boo was coordinating the art activations in several downtown parks this summer, and I feel incredibly lucky that he connected me with this opportunity! I am also grateful to the St. Paul Downtown Alliance for hosting a program that centered artists in parks, that recognizes rightly that art connects, heals and opens people’s imaginations for creating new possibilities.
Lucinda & Boo McCaleb
Just bathing in the community love bathing sculpture’s light.
Lucinda & Sean Lim
Sean and Lucinda posing by the sculpture.
I am grateful for my partner who helped me so much with setting up my sculpture and the Love Stations and who placed the heart quotes like little treasures for people to find as they wandered all around the grounds. He also kept an eye on things, took photos and saved the sculpture from blowing over in the wind (!!!) even though it was anchored with bricks (!!!) several times.
And my gratitudes continue! I’m so grateful for every single person who came through and engaged with the activation.
The activation was designed to be a meandering through experience.
Active Love Practices Station:
There were four love stations with handmade signage reflecting on active love practices and sharing affirmative statements about love.
This sign reads: What are active love practices? Instead of being sentimental, active love practices are grounded in actions we do for ourselves and each other. Below, in wavy circles, I selected eight active love practices to highlight: Commitment- not giving up on you or others; Care; Trust; Kindness; Respect in actions and words; Affection; Reciprocity- giving and receiving; and Communicating willingly and honestly.
I Am Brave Enough Love Station:
The sign reads: I am brave enough to love through action. By recognizing my aversions, fears, resentments and griefs, I am shown the path to actions that will transform my experiences of Love. I am courageous enough to feel that which doesn’t feel like love. To respect its presence, to listen to it, to trust its truth. I am bold enough to care kindly for my wounds and the wounds of others. I am brave enough to open to affection.
The Community Love Bathing Sculpture
I’ve been carrying around the idea for this sculpture for at least 10 years! Here in a close-up, you can see the way that the hearts are laced together, visually referencing heartbeats. If you look closely at the red valentine’s heart, you can see me (Lucinda) on the microphone through the translucent red gel.
Sculpture, side view
In this photo you can see how the light streaming through the colored gels on the hearts creates a replica of the sculpture in colored light reflected on the ground and bench! The idea is that a person can sit in the light of the sculpture, made from both valentine’s shaped and anatomically shaped carved hearts, and meditate on love; can receive the light of love on their body, placing the light where more love is needed.
Postcard Printing: Love, to me means…
Sean Lim’s postcards were brilliant and invited people to depict with words, drawing or design what love means to them or looks like to them. Postcards were hung on the line, and anyone could take another postcard that resonated with them.
Sean Lim’s Screenprinting Station
Sean cranked out lots of postcard pages, and allowed participants to also practice doing a screenprint! At right, Sean’s arms and hands draw the printing squeegee tool across a page that is below the screen, which is covered in red ink.
Love Meditations
On the microphone, I shared four love meditations at different moments during the two-hour activation.
It was really cool to see people checking out the love station signs, making postcards that depicted or shared what love means to them, bathing in the light of the love bathing sculpture, and taking in the four spoken-word meditations I shared.
I feel incredibly lucky to have done my second-ever public art event in St. Paul, and to have spoken out and shared the vibrations of Love with so many people throughout the day. I was so glad to be bold and brave and to focus on love in a time of ongoing cultural fracture.
