A while ago, I was walking into the mall, and attached to an exit door of the movie theater was a small crocheted heart:
The project is an outreach program designed to bring awareness to bullying and suicide. From their website:
The hearts are placed in public places around the world for people to find during their everyday lives. We hope the hearts cause people to stop for a moment and reflect on a young life lost to suicide, on bullying and on the fact that everyone’s life matters. We want to leave people with a feeling that there is still good out there in the world
It’s a beautiful heart and a wonderful project (which has spread across the world as I learned).
While the heart I found wasn’t in bright, cheerful colors, as is requested, it did bring a smile to my face, not only for the fact of finding a wonderful piece of art, but it was in the bear pride flag colors (a subset in the gay community).
Small pieces of art like that are sadly seen by some as litter (and to be honest, sometimes I suppose they can be, we need to think about sustainability when creating art), but things like this always bring a smile to my face.
The smaller pieces of art at a Burn, or the things that people do or bring to gift to one another, very often, mean more I think than the large projects funded by grants. Both have their place, and spectacle is wonderful, but there is something to be said for the intimate moments of small art and their immediacy that is only experienced by a small handful of people. It’s an experience you can only share with a few others, and that adds a layer.
Either way though, it brought a smile to my face, and I’m so happy to have found this small heart!
