Marker for the Missing
Marker for the Missing
December 18th 2014, 1 hour duration
Valle Vista Rd. 29 Palms, CA
Documentation by Lucas Coffin
Excerpts from instruction booklet:
for the duration be silent
no talking
as you walk towards the site take in the environment
take notice of each other and form a circle around the cement
inside your bag you will find gloves to protect your hands, a blind fold, and string
you’ve been placed into a pair you will work with your partner to collect objects from the land through guidance
as a pair decide who will be blind folded first
once blind folded your partner will gently and honestly lead you through the landscape
your partner will guide your hands in order to collect a variety of objects from the land
place your findings in your bag
each person should spend 15 minutes experiencing the land as a guide and another 15 minutes blind folded, if you are too uncomfortable being blind folded feel free to silently collect objects by yourself
fill your bag.
before returning to the cement, walk to the burnt structure and tie one of your found objects to the structure
return to the cement
when you return, form a circle around the cement
turn to your right and begin walking slowly around the cement
while walking carefully take your findings out of your bag one by one, arrange your finding carefully on the surface of the cement, close to the edge
you can connect your objects with those found by others, you can work together
when everyone is done placing their objects on
the cement activate the sounds of your plastic bag
place your gloves and blindfold in your bag and place it on the ground, using the open space come onto the cement.
While everyone was collecting I blindfolded myself and began engraving lines using a cement scoring knife, which I crafted a wooden handle for along with a wooden spacer. When everyone came back to the cement and finished laying out their objects I heard the crinkling of their bags, and took off my blind fold. The marks and objects were left on the slab as we departed.