Dear people,

I am currently an artist in residence at the Contemporary Artists Center at Woodside in Troy, NY, and would like to invite you to participate in my work. Memorial (2011) is a performance borrowing the memorial service as a structure to contain some ideas about personal and collective commemoration, the editing of cultural memory, and the symbolic gesture as a spiritual vernacular.

Content sources include but are not limited to Amma the hugging saint, Obama's signature, the Norway memorials, Amy Winehouse's eyeliner, folk music from Epirus, Woodside Church history, Memorial (2005) from my first residency at CAC, the mala, Melanie Moore's So You Think You Can Dance audition, Southern Baptist funeral practices, church bells, New Orleans jazz, Margaret and Shirley, The Lakeshore Limited, and sheet cake.

In short, I am going to light 1100 candles, play my viola, lead a song, recite a few old and new prayers, and do a dance on a floor of flowers. That's your cue.


Whether your intention is to honor someone you have lost or celebrate an event from your history, you are invited to build my floor of flowers with your dedications. Please send fresh or fake flowers with a note about your commemoration to:


Memorial (2011) will be performed on the evening of August 5th. To have your dedication included in the performance, please be sure your bouquet gets to the church by Thursday, August 4th. Here's a good resource for petals by post, should you go that route: www.flowerdeliveryd​eals.com/

Eleven hundred thank yous,

Karen Faith

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FAQ

What is it you want me to do again?
I want you to use this performance as a space to commemorate someone or something. If you didn't get to send flowers to your grandpa's memorial, you can now. If you want to celebrate finishing your PhD, you can send a dozen roses in honor of your fortitude. If you feel compelled to offer zinnias to your inner child, spirit animal, invisible friend, or celebrity lust obsession, this is for you, too.

I would like to participate, but find the sending of flowers to be fiscally irresponsible. What should I do?
Send a card!

What if I can't get off Facebook for long enough to get to a postbox?
Send an ecard!

Will there be cake at the performance?
Yes.

Will it be vegan?
No.

Is this going to be a super downer?
Not entirely.

This is not my thing, but I think my old roommate's girlfriend would be into it. Can I send this email to her?
Yes. This is an open and public invitation. I'm sending it to you personally because I like you. Feel free to send it to the people you like.

Are you going to think I'm an asshole because I don't want to waste $20 on something beautiful that you're going to stomp all over and then toss with the trash?
No. But it sounds like you are the kind of person who thinks that falling in love is a waste, too. In which case, possibly. Also, it may interest you to know that the flowers will all be blessed and respectfully rendered into compost for the garden here, where people who fall in love all the time get their vegetables.