Illumination became a profound investigation into the interplay of community, authorship, place, community, and artistic expression. This year-long odyssey of organization, planning, design, and fabrication culminated in a remarkable convergence of strangers at the Museum of Art in Fort Collins, CO. United by anonymous interventions, they became unwitting collaborators in the creation of a self-guided sculpture.

I created 150 singular, unique sculptural elements that could be joined together in any number of different configurations. The modular nature of the pieces suggests an inherent potential for growth and change, reflecting the organic, evolving nature of community and collaboration.

Material and Process: Choosing fabricated wood as the primary material is significant. Wood carries connotations of naturalness, warmth, and connection to the earth. Yet, in this project, the wood is fabricated, suggesting a human intervention into the natural, transformation of raw material into something shaped and defined by intention.

This parallels the project’s broader theme: the transformation of isolated, individual elements into a communal, larger whole. The use of dowel screws and inserts allowed for multiple configurations. This emphasizes flexibility and adaptability, inviting participants to engage in a process of co-creation. The modular nature of the pieces also suggests an inherent potential for growth and change, reflecting the organic, evolving nature of community and collaboration.

Place and Artist Anonymity: The pieces were anonymously delivered to random households around Fort Collins. This process is a deliberate act of embedding the work within a specific geographical and social context.

The city became a canvas of sorts, and the homes of the participants became the initial sites of interaction with the art and concept. This spatial diffusion of the work aligns with Martin Heidegger’s notion of “dwelling,” where place is not merely a location but a lived experience shaped by interactions, memories, and relationships. A note was attached alerting households to bring their piece to the museum and join with others in the community to build a larger form. I stressed the form wasn’t predetermined, wasn’t supposed to be something specific nor a puzzle.

It was an opportunity to commune and work together to express themselves within the confines the pieces and joinery allowed. By remaining anonymous, I subveted traditional hierarchies of authorship and creative authority. The anonymity allows the recipients to engage with the work on their own terms, without my influence.

Philosophy of Dwelling and Community: In Heidegger’s essay “Building Dwelling Thinking,” he posits that dwelling is about more than just inhabiting a space; it’s about nurturing and sustaining the relationships that give meaning to that space. Illumination can be seen as an experiment in communal dwelling—a way of creating a shared experience that transforms individual, isolated dwellings (homes) into a connected, collective space (the museum). The act of bringing the pieces together in the Museum of Art symbolizes a convergence of individual experiences into a shared moment of creation.

This anonymity also reinforces the theme of community creation—where the final work is not the product of a single artist but a collective effort, each contributing their own.

The act of bringing the pieces together to the Fort Collins Museum of Art symbolizes a convergence of individual experiences into a shared moment of creation. Each participant brings with them their own story, their own interpretation of the piece they received, and these diverse perspectives coalesce into a larger, unified work. This mirrors Heidegger’s idea that dwelling is about bringing together and preserving what belongs together.

Conclusion: This project also challenges the notion of artistic genisis or singular vision. By ceding control to the participants, I raise questions about the role of the artist in contemporary society. Are artists merely facilitators of experiences, or do they still hold a central role as creators and visionaries?

In conclusion, this project is a profound exploration of place, community, and authorship. It embodies Heidegger’s concept of dwelling by transforming individual experiences into a collective act of creation. The artist’s anonymity, the random distribution of the pieces, and the collaborative nature of the final work all serve to dissolve traditional boundaries between artist and viewer, between creator and participant, and between individual and community.

This work is not just a sculpture but a living, breathing embodiment of what it means to dwell in a shared space, to connect with others, and to co-create meaning in the world.