A Monument for the Anxious and Hopeful

New York, New York

By definition, anxiety and hope are determined by a moment that has yet to arrive. A Monument for the Anxious and Hopeful is a living catalogue of the ways in which we relate to the uncertainty of tomorrow. As part of the Futures exhibit at the Rubin Museum of Art, visitors were invited to anonymously share their anxieties and hopes on vellum cards which hung on the lobby wall. On view for the duration of 2018-2019, the installation collected over 50,000 responses and grew into a monolithic barometer of the collective mood.

Visitors could explore thousands of individual meditations that ranged from personal, local, and specific statements to political, theoretical, and spiritual reflections: I’m anxious because… I care too much about what people think of me — I don't want an addiction to control me — I worry we are losing our humanity — my partner started following his ex on Instagram — I am retirement age with no retirement income — so few people vote — ecological disaster is imminent — being misunderstood is scary — we’re building things we don’t understand. I’m hopeful because… I believe in love when I never thought I would — tche world is full of good people, they just don’t make the news — what I focus on always grows — he seems committed about his recovery — we can walk out and march — my willingness to grow and change — my mother is becoming more accepting of others — music saves my life a little every day — there is beauty in both solitude and connection — I’m open to grace.

Chang and Reeves are now collaborating with Professors Karla Murdock and Wythe Whiting of W&L University and their Technology, Health and Cognition Lab to document all of the responses and analyze the themes and topics that dominate our thoughts in contemporary life.