TO THE EDITOR:
I would like to contribute to recent coverage of diverse perspectives on the prominently placed Unsung Founders Memorial.
I was fascinated to learn in Allison Portnow’s letter (Oct. 1) that UNC’s Ackland Art Museum owns an earlier piece by the same artist, Do-Ho Suh, that is “echoed” in the Unsung Founders Memorial.
Has this earlier work of art, “Floor” (1997-2000), ever been prominently displayed in such a way that students and community members are invited to view and reflect on both works of art? And would it be possible to convene a public panel to frame and guide a wider conversation focusing on these two works while asking deeper questions?
This kind of public event and exhibit would honor the energy and enthusiasm of students who challenge all of us to analyze the impact of the campus’ built environment. Their aim is to make our community more intellectual (not less so) and provoke all of us to create a more inclusive, welcoming environment.
When students feel so passionately as to create a performance art piece that seems to share many of same concerns as Do-Ho Suh, I think we must respond by expanding the dialogue about “Unsung” in a way that opens more discussion of racialized spaces and generates constructive ideas about improving intellectual and social climate for all.
Prof. Altha Cravey
Geography
