Improbable Monument

Monument Interaction, The Naked Man

Background:

"Let’s celebrate the Naked Man in the courtyard between HSS and Business buildings at San Francisco State University. This monument as of today has an obscure meaning, there is no plaque telling its history, what it commemorates or represents.
To us this naked man emerging from ferns in a very lush courtyard is an opportunity to celebrate a new emerging consciousness. He represents a new man who is not scared of nature, one who does not need to cover himself up in the face of the elements. Similarly to Adam before the apple episode this statue has its genitals uncovered, to us it means that he is not ashamed of his own nature and that he actually wants to partake in natural simplicity. For us it is also an opportunity to rectify the course of history and to modify a culture that tells us we should be ashamed of our nature and of our genitals. Furthermore we draw a parallel between the fact that this statue usually goes unnoticed and the fact that Nature is always there and providing us (humans) with wisdom and new knowledge, yet no one seems to pay her any attention.
Finally this celebration is an opportunity to expose the subject of environmental collapse to the student body and to the important role of our consciousness in environmental rejuvenation."


Action:

Invitation:

Who: You!
What: Celebration of the Naked Man
When: Date TBA
Where: The Courtyard between the HSS and Business building
Why: To rectify the course of history and to erase the part of history that tells us we should be ashamed of our nature and of our genitals.

Program:

I. Introduction
II. Speaker- Virginie
III. Lei-ing of the statue
IV. Closing Comments and Questions
V. Celebration with music, dancing, and refreshments


Audience:

Most obviously we wish for the whole world to be the audience to this monument of re-birth. In combination with introducing this new monument and new meaning to men and women of our current society, it is also a hope that it can be shared with the young and new generations of our society. Therefore, we hope our audience is a good mixture of young and mature.
In the monuments current location, in between the HSS and Business buildings, it is our aim to show the straight-laced, business and science society our natural and humanistic heritage. Being concerned with human matters and creations, while still important, makes us all forget that we are a natural creation as humans. We don't just survive around nature or even amongst nature, we are a part of nature.
Our most important audience however, is not those who commute to work or carry a briefcase, it is their children and their childrens' children that gives hope to this new monument. We wish to show the youth that nature is not something that we control or grows around us, it is our home and our family. With the re-birth of this monument we hope that there is no fear of our natural bodies and our humanistic qualities. No longer will there be a separation between Nature and Humans and future generations will grow and create societies with Nature in mind.

Ideas for my improbable monument

A monument to the Earth.
- For its ability to recycle and regenerate
. A hole in the ground. People would come and add one thing they would have thrown away (anything but organic material). Then everyone would have to realize/remember that we manufacture many un-natural materials that take years if not centuries to degrade.
. A square of dirt left unattended. Over the years people would see what is the natural restoration process. For example today I visited a friend that I visit very frequently. She has a barrel of dirt on her front stoop (very unattended) and I always think how bare and full of weed this thing is. But today a "weed" flowered into gorgeous and numerous bright pink blossoms!
- A monument to the re-unification of humanhood with the rest of the planet.
It could be a small forest inhabited by many wild creatures (a mini-Eden) in which one enters to commune. At its center, a meadow allows the visitor to experience oneness with nature, either in silence or in communion with others through ceremonies and rituals.