To me you are a work of art with Rodney Veal

“To Me You are a Work of Art is about memory/history and the physical space that it is generated in and how those memories/ histories can be accessed through choreographic exploration and video construction. I want to train my lens as an artist on the possible layered connections that exist.

What can these places tell us about race, class and gender?

Can a physical space contain the essence of the past?

And can we tap into that information in a contemporary sense, is there the residual energy of “being.”

This exploration culminates in a video art installation combined with a choreographed dance solo generated from the project material created in the process. “

Student Artist:
Sara Sexton, Columbus College of Art and Design

Youth Participants:
Tim Barker, Dayton
Curtis Brown, Kettering
De’Narrow Brown, Centerville
Danton Chambers, Dayton
Chris Miskell, Miamisburg
A.C. Taylor, Dayton

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To Me You are a Work of Art

by Chris Miskell

To me you are a work of art.

You’ve fallen, stumbled down the staircase of decline.

Decreasing, slowly deceasing, as you leave your beloved behind.

A flame has devoured the foundation, turning it to ash.

This is where we learned how to fly; now all we do is crash.

You are stuck in the hole, but will never be buried.

Don’t worry about walking on your own, because you will forever be carried.

You’ve lost your motion, but with the notion of locomotion,

You can sway like the ocean, but first you must overcome the commotion.

To me you are a work of art.

From the scars of the broken metal,

Lived the unspoken pain that will never settle.

I saw G.M. collapse and your dignity crumble.

We’re losing focus, our home is beginning to tumble.

To me you are a work of art.

See my sweat? See my tears? Do you see this screw?

I built this land; I built this home for you!

While you sit at home and drink your wine,

I’m listening to the sounds of labor and losing my mind.

Can you hear my voice? Can you hear me speak?

Or is the sound of industry rattling in your ears too deep?

I’m losing hope, been in this soul consuming pit for years.

The metal has begun to rust; I just lubricate it with tears.

To me you are a work of art.

From the horizon where the sun kissed the sky,

To the buildings towering over those who cry.

From the manufactured, to where bones fractured,

Dayton, Ohio was where my soul was captured.

From the cracked staircase to the shattered glass.

From the shadows that lurk, to those dwelling with our ancestor’s past.

Was the place where hope and love was mastered.

But on top of it hatred and death was plastered.

To me you are a work of art.

We idolize the grass because we live on steel,

That cuts our toes with struggle that will never heal.

Dayton was a dream that we wished was real,

Now we live in pain, and we are too numb to feel.

You’ve slipped from the cliff, gravity is pulling you down.

Your body went stiff, once you smacked the ground.

Your savior knocked on the door, but you didn’t hear the sound.

You fell into the abyss; I hope soon you will be found.

I’ve wondered why the walls collapsed and why the ceiling fell.

Why you let go of the rope and fell into hell.

We must get better, we must get well,

For I have found the keys to escape the cell.

Now here we are, lets rise from the ashes and make a brand new start.

Let’s work together and make Dayton once again, a work of art.

To me you are a work of art.

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