Underpin & Overcoat, 2020

Up-cycled insulation foam, fiberglass, resin, paint, hardware. Buttons range in scale from 3 x 3 feet to 6 x 6 feet.

This multi-site public art installation, made in collaboration with Andrea Miller, rescales and reimagines political buttons and places them on the architectural exteriors of buildings. Big, bold, and bright, these buttons reference political images and slogans but without advocating specific beliefs or positions. Instead, political statement itself and the hard-won right to give voice to political ideas, emerge as the medium and the message. Underpin and Overcoat shows how jewelry is ubiquitous, powerful, private, public, precious, democratic, and so much more.

Some of the designs are originals by me and Andrea, while others were contributed by local Rochester artists, Amanda Chestnut, Tania Day, Erica Jae, Abiose Spriggs, Thievin' Stephen, and the Seneca Art & Culture Center at Ganondagan. You can view the individual pieces and read more about each piece by clicking here.

This project was made possible in part through funding provided by the Rochester Contemporary Art Center and The Susan B. Anthony Museum and House along with the support of SewGreen Rochester. Sites included the Rochester Contemporary Art Center, SewGreen Rochester, The Douglass Auditorium, 17 Main Street, and The Susan B. Anthony Museum and House.