Johanna Poethig (CSUMB faculty emerita)
SKYLIGHT: Transmission of Knowledge/ Windows to Justice
2019
California State University, Monterey Bay
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
acrylic paint, 8’ x 45’
The light-transmitting oculus opens to the sky. A plant growth pattern forms the dome, a symbol for preserving the environment and sustaining life. Interconnected knotted cords of a Khipu, one of the oldest record-keeping and language devices, are stenciled with a selection of words. Lenses reflect multiple perspectives expressed through photographic and cinematic technologies. A heart is suspended above the flame emanating from the hands of the Dia de los Muertos celebrant. The scales of justice are held by a CSUMB graduate balancing on a tightrope of networked intersectionality that lights up the globe: a steward with sophisticated understanding, engaged in the movements for social equity, studying the paradoxes, taking the risks but always searching for connections. Puzzle pieces stretch out over the landscape signifying that learning is a continual process of fitting the pieces together and taking them apart for further study. Arranged at the corner, marigolds and chrysanthemums symbolize the beauty and cultures we cultivate in the garden together.
Commissioned by the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences with major funding by Roxana Keland (Visual and Public Art alumnus) and University Corporation.
