Accessibility 2003 artists

Sunday, September 21, 2003

Lori Goodman of Eureka, Calif., has tentatively titled her installation “Paper Grass.” It will fill a vacant lot with paper grass made from handmade paper, mostly black or dark tones in color. Each blade of grass will be about 6 to 18 inches to 7 feet high.

This installation reflects on the universality of grass and how nature overcomes almost any obstacle to continue growth — even abandoned city lots. The artist hopes that this strange paper grass might spark interest in cleaning up vacant lots and make people more aware of nature and the environment. Goodman partnered with Annette Cook, director of Sumter County Active Lifestyles, who is also interested in nature and environmental issues. Her host is Michelle Ross. Goodman will involve many local volunteers in “planting” the paper grass. The paper grass may be in multiple locations or sited in a vacant lot along Main Street in Sumter.

Accessibility 2003: The Item Newspaper reviewed by Jane G. Collins. “Lori Goodman’s ‘Universal Grass’ reflects the overall theme of the installations… The tall spikes invite the eye into the interior of the deserted structure to contemplate what might have been and to see that regardless of abandonment and neglect, life struggles on. …and, like Walt Whitman’s poem, we are reminded that ‘I am grass; I cover all… Let me work.”

Accessibility 2003: The State Newspaper, Giving outside artists Accessibility works beautifully by Jeffrey Day, staff writer… “The most subtly startling piece in the courthouse area is as easy to overlook as the others are to see. A paved plaza in front of the tall county buildings is pretty beaten down. The trees in it look tired, and some of the openings in the pavement where trees once stood contain nothing but sand. In the blank areas and around the remaining, Lori Goodman of California has stuck a few sprigs of green paper and wire that look like little plants struggling to survive. On the barren plaza and in front of a tall modernist office building, these little sprigs give a message of hope against the elements.”