The Shadows We Cast

A collaborative architectural video projection by Tiffany Carbonneau and Susanna Crum

The Ross Art Museum, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio, 2017

 

The Shadows We Cast, an architectural video projection on the facade of the Ross Art Museum, a former US Post Office building, overlays imagery from postcards, letters and home movies from the Delaware and Central Ohio Region. It explores two periods of history when changes in labor practices and infrastructure made travel and leisure more accessible, and explores how these media became instruments for defining and promoting “The American Dream.”  

In contrast to private, sealed letters, postcards became efficient, inexpensive, and visual tools of communication at a time of mass migration, immigration, and urban development in the late 19th century. As the American middle class continued to grow in the early and mid 20th century, motion picture film became a means to perform and project American ideals. All media allowed users to document, preserve, and project their experiences in a public and private way, transforming personal experience, landscape, and travel into cultural commodities.

At the crossroads of town and campus, the building that now is the Ross Art Museum has long been a meeting point between student and local residents, and the creative process for The Shadows We Cast similarly reflects this connection. The artists worked closely with students and historians at the archives of Delaware County Historical Society and Ohio Wesleyan University to create a visual narrative that highlights intersections between the site’s past and present, and fosters dialogue about its future.  

This exhibit was supported by the Ohio Wesleyan University Ross Art Museum.