FInal Project

My group project is going to be a satirical sculpture, critiquing the class difference in Syracuse. The sculpture will be a large three-dimensional object, made from welded money, such as quarters, dimes, pennies, nickels and even dollar bills. We will have slots on the side, for people to drop money into. The monument will demand attention with its robust size. The sculpture will be placed in Armory Square, because this area is a prime example of what is wrong with Syracuse, and its many low-income neighborhoods. Armory square is arguably one of the nicest areas in Syracuse, with the most shopping, dining, and nightlife. Having been to Armory Square, it is obvious that the area only serves the upper and middle class communities. In a place like Syracuse, this is a problem, because people are wasting a lot of money every day, when they could be helping these less fortunate people. Hopefully this monument will bring light to this issue. The history of this area begins in the early 1820’s, when the area began to flourish. A lot of business came to Syracuse during this time, leading to its success. Soon after business began to lag, until in the 1970’s the area experienced a revival. The project will be an intervention, as it will most definitely interfere with peoples time, because it will be so noticeable, that people will have to view the piece. As far as permission to make this sculpture goes, we will have to get permission, because it will be a huge part of the square, because of the way it will look. The project will fit in with the area in the sense that it is relevant to the area, because people spend a lot of money there, but in a physical state it will not fit in. This in a way is a good thing, as it will grab people’s attention. The project will work in the same sense that Damali Ayo’s project worked. Her projects are very satirical like ours is. Similarly to Damali, there is a goal behind our art. The goal is to raise awareness as well as money about this social class problem. This goal will be a success in my mind, as long as we raise awareness about the issue. I truly do not believe that people understand how much of an issue this is, and by raising awareness, I would consider the project a success. We need the target audience, being the upper and middle class people spending large sums of money at Armory Square, instead of fixing the poverty problem in Syracuse. Hopefully this audience will be surprised at how selfish they have been and act upon it. This project should give these people a sense of what they need to do in this community.