Current Resident
Cassidy Frye
Junk Mail, Steel, Astroturf
Analysis By: Jo Banister
Identity and place tend to be important keys in an artist’s work – whether they realize it or not. Think of Judy Chicago or Robert Indiana and how their desire to tie their identity to a place led them to change their surnames in recognition of that place. By making “home” or “the roots” of a person out of junk mail, I believe the artist is calling into question whether places should hold such a sway over our identity – or at least, she is calling attention to the impermanence of physical places as markers of our identity. Further reading into the piece could draw out the thought that perhaps the artist is making a more metaphysical statement – maybe she is calling attention not just to the impermanence of a physical home, but also the impermanence of our physical bodies and pointing out that bodies as well as homes are something that will eventually deteriorate and decay.