I came across documents from the exhibit itself, and thought a few quotes were especially inspirational.
"The act of eating is the moment in which we are most intimately connected to the world around us. We ingest into our bodies earthly matter that grew out of organic and environmental cycles happening all the time. We are all at the receiving end of dung and corpses decomposing, rainfall and evaporation, solar radiation, and so forth. What happens when the source of our food is far awat and hidden from us? In moving food great distances, we pollute and expend precious energy, but perhaps more important, we lose visible evidence of our humble place in the big food chain."
"A small garden of very modest means, humble materials, and little effort can have a radical effect on the life of a family, how they spend their time and relate to their environment, whom they see, and how they eat. This singular local response to global issues can become a model. It can be enacted by anyone in the world and can have a monumental impact."
"Most of us feel like we don't have any control over the direction in which out world is headed. As always, the newspapers are full of daily evidence for concern. Unlike the challenges of past generations, however, these struggles are no longer just localized or broadly regional; they are an interlaced web of planetary challenges. How, then, do we respond in the face of the impossible scale of issues such as global energy production, climate change, and the related political aggressions and instabilities that accompany them? One thing we can do is act where we have influence, and in a capitalist society, that would be our private property. Here we have the freedom to create in some small measure the world in which we want to live."
I think it's hard to admit that I BELIEVE THE WORLD SHOULD BE ANOTHER WAY. Should, could, would, if only everyone on the planet could see the same beauty as I, the same possibility;if only everyone contained the same desire for peace. The reconciliation of these quotes - a settling-on the capitalist reality we are given - can suffice, but I still need something more. Of course, my property, my person, my gender, my words can subvert and be subverted; this is a political act. But I wonder if we are so powerless as to only have power over ourselves. When does the power of individuals join? Where? When? For what? The elements of change I would like to see, I must be. PRONTO!
