Deedee Morrison Sculpture
One Columbia - Columbia, SC
Stainless Steel Pipe with LED Lighting
17’H 5’D
2021
With a relatively small public art budget the City of Women delivered on a big idea; calling forth a form that could hold the weight of renewed faith; activating public space in a way that transcends speech, re-defines old narratives, and restores hope. With simplicity, beauty, and a timeless, divine form, we erect the scaffolding to celebrate their lives of purpose and the dignity of their work.
History is an exercise in crafting narratives that give voice to the past to engage with the present.
With our institutions and monuments, the original circle drawn over 230 years ago collectively facilitated the exclusion of the majority of us. Those decisions continue to affect the experience of life for many of us in America today. Many of our greatest thinkers, creators, activists, educators were deemed outside of a rigid code of acceptability and effectively deemed outside America’s original circle.
How we choose to honor and remember the past, will always direct the pathway into our future.
The Architecture of Strength sets a new tone; to spark curiosity and awareness of our collective history, simultaneously encouraging bold acts of belonging and inclusion of the underrepresented, marginalized, and segregated members of our society.
We are creating a new circle with a fixed point - a metaphorical luminous point. This is the moment too disembark for strength of us. She is to honor the original 12 women of Columbia, but she provides inclusion for all. From our fixed luminous point, we incorporate a broader, more encompassing view of our history and move into a new dimension of thought. One of wholeness and unity and fostering a broader expression of justice and equality.
The Architecture of Strength gracefully stands; 17 feet tall, nestled inside a new circle. What were once many pieces of stainless steel pipe in varying sizes, now welding back together. Her strength is created from the sum of parts. As I walked around her this morning, I reflected on the many and the nameless who have come before us and shown the way before with strength and conviction. I have deep gratitude to the City of Women and Columbia to have been a part of this public art journey with you.