Editorial

Monuments for Small Things

by Jalisa OH

A wave-like sculpture made up of repeating heads and feet on a white pedestal in a gallery space

Installation view, The Long Dream, MCA Chicago November 7, 2020–January 17, 2021

Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

We create monuments to things we want to uplift and immortalize. What do we choose celebrate and remember forever? What or who do we leave out?

By honoring a small thing, like a fly or an ant, we consider what everyone’s purpose is in our shared community or ecosystem. We might even change our perspective about sharing space with these creatures that might give us the creeps sometimes. Let’s take a moment to practice gratitude and honor even the smallest things as necessary to our survival.

Get inspired to make your own monument to small things and sanctuary spaces by watching this show-and-tell with artists Ione Sanders and Jalisa OH.

Rethink what monuments can look like

Take inspiration from artworks in The Long Dream and the MCA Collection.

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