An American Dream
I became interested in creating a body of sculptures entitled An American Dream after September 11, 2001. I wanted to inject a new personal element into my sculptures that would relate to my past experience as an immigrant to the United States of America.
America for me was a country of choice, and as such - an idea and a dream. Yet America was also a foreign experience, forever to be compared with my previous life. After 9/11, I found myself reappraising my thoughts, feelings, and attitudes toward the choices I had made long ago. In my mind's eye I had the image of the United States as a blue wall; hence blue walls are often the focus of this series. A wall can give you protection, but can also be a divisive force. I distilled the idea of the American Dream against the shapes and colors of the American flag.
The series also featured a bench, Round Her Neck She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, which evokes an image of America, suggested by the colors and the forms of the flag, and specified in the picket fence, the skyline of an American city with its office towers, and the Washington Monument. The actual yellow ribbon relates to the well-known song of the same name. In the entire sculpture, I try to define my interpretation of American dwelling and come-home patriotism.