"The Symons Block Hotel is redefining how it fosters connections by adding a unique twist to the visitor experience." - KXLY
The installation is a minimal modern design, a black wood frame attached to the wall with a clear acrylic front measuring 92" x 46" x 2" with a 2’ cut out running almost the length of the acrylic at the bottom. Behind the glass are several hand written paper airplanes holding love letters. The letters get inserted into the installation through the top hole as it is not covered. The art installation is attached and secured more than half way up the wall intentionally.
The Free Love Letters art installation contributes to the well being of humanity. It is this massive invitation into playfulness and curiosity. (Two of Symons Block Hotel’s values.) By not only folding each love letter into an airplane, (activating a sense of childhood) and flying it into the hole at the top, requires you to bring forth that inner child that most adults have let go. Especially considering the state’s mental health climate, this is a timely art piece. When you accept the prompt of “take one, leave one,” you are choosing to contribute to the meaningful side of the human experience.
“Taking one,” is an invitation to give yourself permission to accept someone else’s kindness, words of affirmation, love, adoration, whatever they wish to share. “Leaving one,” is an invitation to contribute these same things. You are intentionally speaking value into someone’s life. You could be writing things you wish you heard growing up. You could write something you wish you had the bravery to say. You could write the words, “you matter. You are valued. You are loved.”
It’s also a beautiful aesthetic statement. At a distance, it's eye-catching. What appears to be an oversized shadow box holding something inside, you are drawn in. As you get closer, you begin to see the quantity of handwritten letters within the frame, hopefully from a global audience, each letter stamped with Symons Block Hotel’s logo. When you come close to pick one of the letters folded into a paper airplane, it’s individualized. It shifts from a community experience to an individual one.
It’s also a beautiful aesthetic statement. At a distance, it's eye-catching. What appears to be an oversized shadow box holding something inside, you are drawn in. As you get closer, you begin to see the quantity of handwritten letters within the frame, hopefully from a global audience, each letter stamped with Symons Block Hotel’s logo. When you come close to pick one of the letters folded into a paper airplane, it’s individualized. It shifts from a community experience to an individual one.
It's my hope that as an artist, I contribute to the beauty of the human experience. I want to be a part of the narrative that is laced with moments that fuel inspiration, wonder, beauty and ultimately make us feel loved and valued, In the very moment we are in.
Dive Deeper...
This Free Love Letters art installation was inspired by a combination of things: my documentation of past experiences since I was eight years old; exchanging letters from my mother who was traveling America; treasuring notes and poems my crushes wrote to me; collecting my friends, mentors and professors encouragements; experiencing one of my mentors deaths and finally an Italian artist in Rome named Greg Goya.
Although singing was where I first felt this, I believe it to be true in writing: the voice can be an instrument to soften a heart, to break down walls, to restore lives and to heal past wounds. When I zoom out on the human experience, I know and have seen the brevity of life. That time is finite and our presence truly matters because it eventually ends. This line of thinking forces me to focus on things I value, and two of those things are creativity and connection.
In the first creative team I led for Symons Block Hotel, we asked “what does it mean to come alive? To be alive?” And thats when we discovered we believe in the power of playfulness, connection, pausing and curiosity. This is also where I began to see the connections of my experiences and how I approach the world with Symons Block Hotel.
In some ways the Free Love Letters art installation reminds me of the trees in Manito Park. Seeing them altogether is its own experience, their quantity and variety in size and color curate an artwork for the viewer. And then when you step up close to one, it’s an entirely different, more intimate experience. You see the rough bark, maybe even touch a leaf, you get a more accurate sense its size the closer you are, and for some, it makes you feel grounded. The installation at a distance is beautiful, minimal, modern, and you can see the quantity of hand written letters within the frame. When you pick one of the letters folded into a paper airplane, it’s individualized. It shifts from a community experience to an individual one.