Ann Hamilton : privation and excesses, Capp Street Project, 1989, Open to the street, a display of 750,000 pennies, laid by hand, leaching
honey at the edges, the scent of copper and honey faced by the
smell and gaze of three sheep, a figure seated, hands wringing over
a hat filled with honey, two mortar and pestles grinding, teeth and
pennies.
The budget for this project, $7,500, was obtained in the denomination
of 750,000 pennies. They were laid into a skin of honey to define
a 45’x32’ rectangle on the floor. Facing this display a side room
housed 3 sheep, a person sat dipping and wringing their hands into
a felt hat filled with honey and two motorized mortar and pestles
ground elements that make reference to human systems: one abstract
and one biological. One ground a bowl of pennies; the other, a collection
of human teeth.
At the completion of the project, the pennies were cleaned and
counted, and then used to cover the expenses of the project. The
remaining money was donated to fund a symposium supporting
the collaboration between artists and educators in the San Francisco
Public School System.
–Ann Hamilton