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"Forget-Me-Nots"

c. 2011-2013

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Designed & Constructed by: Kate Kendall

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ABOUT THE DESIGN

Forget-Me-Nots was inspired by the concept of the memory wall and research I was doing back in 2011 into the meanings given certain flowers and plants in Victorian times when emotions and feelings were not discussed openly. The forget-me-not is a little 5-petal blue flower that carries its meaning quite directly in its name, which I appreciated at the time and still do. I was also inspired by the act of reusing which gave these discarded objects back their value and another chance to be appreciated and remembered. I hope people linger on the panel long enough to notice the duck heads, the turtle, the roundness of the marbles, the angles of the orange squeezers (in honor of Jefferson Davis McKissack and the Orange Show), the length of the spoon, the expressions of the many faces, the different smoothness and polish of ceramic, metal and stone, and the way the light moves through the many blue glass pieces.

 

It is also important to note the presence of some materials unseen. I started my project as one of the first artists at the very beginning of Smither Park and we had not really devised a way to support 3D structures with Styrofoam. Stacked rocks and brick debris found in the then empty lot that became the park form the structure for the bottom of the biggest blue flower. Above the rocks, the chicken wire mesh is filled with the light and voluminous things I could find in the warehouse — namely American Spirit cigarette tins, aluminum beer and soda cans, Christmas cookie and candy tins, and band aid tins — all stacked on top of each other.

 

I’d like to thank my parents Jan-Claire Phillips and Jerry Kendall for their support and sweat to help build this panel.