Art410: Post #20

My Improbable Monument Proposal...

INTRODUCTION:

My monument will be based on the origin of The Summer of Love/Hippie Movement of 1967. The monument will reflect the emotion and spirit of the psychedelic experience of peace, love, and freedom.

BACKGROUND:

The Summer of Love/Hippie Movement blossomed in the summer of 1967 in San Francisco by a massive gathering of youth in the Haight-Ashbury district. The prelude to this significant youth movement was on January 14, 1967 at the Human Be-In: A Gathering of the Tribes phenomenon in Golden Gate Park. The outdoors gathering focused on four key ideas of the 1960s counter-culture: personal power, decentralization, ecological awareness, and consciousness expansion. Speakers at the rally included: Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert, Allen Ginsberg, and Gary Snyder. As well as comedians: Dick Gregory, Lenore Kandel, and Jerry Rubin. Also, the live entertainment of local rock bands: Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

As a result from the Human Be-In gathering, as soon as summer arrived there were over 100,000 youth migrating from all over the U.S. into the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco and on top of that about 100,000 more tourists to see the historic happening. Many leaving their homes and parents, schools and jobs, all for their own values of love, peace, and freedom. The Haight-Ashbury district was the heart of the Hippie Movement; here the youth established a free health clinic and a group called the Diggers (a community-action group) organized shelter and free food for anyone. The Monterey Pop Festival of 67 was the official starting point of the Summer of Love. The three day outdoors festival held some of the most powerful performances of music ever portrayed on stage. Bands like The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Grateful Dead, Simon and Garfunkel, and many more all shared the stage.

PROBLEM OF TODAY:

After looking around online, much of the enlightening experience of The Summer of Love/Hippie Movement has been blurred out of focus by the heavy drug use during the time period. I understand it was a huge factor of the era, but can’t it be done in a more positive way and appropriate for all ages?

DETAILS ON MONUMENT:

There will be holographic images and patterns that were popular during The Summer of Love like tie-dyes and peace signs illuminated by recycled bottle/glass spotlights, and projectors created by recycled electronics. At the same time there will be music coming from speakers built into each of the corner's streetlight poles. The famous clock on one of the corners will be improved with a built in music provider, like an ipod, filled with nothing but 60s music and will be played at random when ever the monument goes off. I was thinking of having the monument go off every hour, but then I felt like it would eventually get to an annoying point with the locals. As a result, I came up with a three time showing every day: the first show will be at 3:00PM, second at 6PM, and then finally at 9PM. I chose these hours because I feel like these are the busiest hours during the day and it wont be too early for people nor too late.

CLOSING STATEMENT:

“Haight Ashbury was a ghetto of bohemians who wanted to do anything - and we did but I don't think it has happened since. Yes there was LSD. But Haight Ashbury was not about drugs. It was about exploration, finding new ways of expression, being aware of one's existence.” – Bob Weir (Grateful Dead guitarist)