benches

FOR and AGAINST Benches

The Project
The "Bench Project" is a public art project conceived and executed by Linda Hesh. The "For and Against Benches" are two 6 foot long benches made of steel coated in bright thermoplatic colors. They were installed in various temporary public locations through out the Washington, DC Metro Area in Fall 2008, before the November election. People passing by were invited to participate in the art work by sitting on the bench of their choice and/or writing one thing they are for or against. Those who wouldn't mind having their picture on display in an exhibition were photographed on the benches by Linda Hesh.

The Exhibition
The photographs from the "Bench Project" are now on line at the link below.
Each image includes what the sitters were for or against as a caption.

Online Gallery of
People on the Benches

The Temporary Locations:

September 8 Wednesday 12-2pm	Franklin Park, 13th and I St. NW	Washington, DC
September 11 Thursday 6-8 pm	Greater Reston Arts Center, 12001 Market Street	Reston, VA
September 13 Saturday 5-8 pm	Katzen Art Center at American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW during the reception for "Close Encounters: Facing the Future"	Washington, DC
September 20 Saturday 1-3pm	In front of Hamiltonian Gallery, 1353 U St. NW space donated by Paul So	Washington, DC
September 27 Saturday 12-3pm	Corner of 14th St. and Q St. NW space donated by Monica Bussolati	Washington, DC
September 28 Sunday 11am-2pm	Greater Reston Arts Center, 12001 Market Street as part of the C-note raffle	Reston, VA
September 30 Tuesday 9am-12pm	Sherwood Hall Library, corner of Sherwood Hall and Parkers Lane	Alexandria, VA
October 5 Sunday 12-3pm	Georgetown Waterfront Park, K and Wisconsin Ave. NW	Washington, DC
October 9 Thursday 4-7pm	"Coup D'Espace" at the Washington Project for the Arts, 2023 Massachusetts Ave NW(just west of Dupont Circle) Event Website	Washington, DC
October 11 Saturday 1-5pm	Waterfront area in back of the Torpedo Factory Art Center 105 North Union St.	Alexandria, VA

(opinions collected from the public and not necessarily those of the artist)

Statement

The words "For" and "Against" have no meaning in themselves. But when they are used in a sentence and brought into context, a partisan situation is created that mimics the situation in our country today. Though this temporary interactive public artwork was installed right before the elections, it was not simply about which party or candidate you support, but about our hopes for the future. Whether they voiced a personal issue, or one on the world stage, people were eager to have this forum for expression. The result was over 1000 written opinions and 309 photographed poses on the benches. In the end, I found we are similiar in our hopes for a better world, perhaps differing in the path we envision to get there.