This work, an ongoing monthly participatory ritual performance,
invites passersby to remember the immeasurable gift that the earth
is. When the globe is all beaded, the work will become a walking
pilgrimage where I will carry the earth in a cradleboard. The idea
is that, like in the case of an old, sick parent, we become the
caretaker (mother) of our mother. 'The artist at work.
The Most Precious Jewel an art ritual pilgrimage by dominique mazeaud,
heartist.
Project description:
mazeud's far-reaching work, 'The Great Cleansing of the Rio Grande'
(1987- 19o4) is the inspiration for 'The Most Precious Jewel" in
which she hopes to transmit her deep love for the earth
In a first phase, mazeaud's work honors and gathers. Wherever
she is led to and from San Francisco in September 1999 to the Plaza
of Santa Fe, her home, every month since then, the artist sits beading
a fabric globe, she wears a mask to convey an air of peace and anonymity.,
the earth being the star. Her work is an art prayer beads in many
traditions being used as tools for invocation. If her, visual appearance
incites passersby to stop by, she hopes that they will be moved
to think of the earth, to remember the immeasurable gift that "she"
is. To concretize that remembrance she invites the participants
to stitch three beads on their favorite place on earth Beads, also
tears and markings—one a tear of Joy for her unutterable beauty,
a second a tear of grief for her ills, a third perhaps a mark for
a small gesture the header may have already taken or be inspired
to take on earth's sake.
In a second phase, when the globe is totally beaded, her
performance will become a walking pilgrimage where she will carry
the ' bejeweled earth' in a cradleboard on her back. One thing she
learned from the earth is that at this time of our evolution, we
need to deepen the trend of role reversal: The earth has been known
as our mother. We need to become the mother of the earth. After
walking in her Northern New Mexico bioregion, mazeaud will decide
whether she is as brave as her spiritual mother Peace Pilgrim (who
walked over 25,000 miles for peace) and continue walking or else,
take her work on the road by traveling from city to city by Greyhound
Bus to touch and be touched by America, her adopted land. Since
participatory, experiential processes facilitate a shift from indifference
to discovery and involvement, mazeaud also plans to bring "the most
precious jewel" into the classroom.
