GETTING INTO IT: Critchley in the crypt. |
It’s one thing to have performances on a stage and art works in a gallery, and another to accomplish what “Cryptic Providence” will do. Sixteen projects, from music and dance to site-specific installations, will take place in North Bur-ial Ground, North Main Street and Branch Avenue, Providence. Performances are scheduled for the first two weekends, and the art installations will remain on view in the cemetery daily from 8 am to 4 pm through September 28.
Under examination is our relationship to death, dying, and burial practices, in a setting that’s not only appropriate in a literal way but also provides a calm setting for reflection.
“This is a park,” says artist Jay Critchley, who created the overall project, consulting with local historian Robert O. Jones. “It’s a place to meditate and be in nature — the landscape, the trees, the grounds are really available for people to enjoy.”
Critchley has gotten enthusiastic cooperation from Tom D’Amore, director of the burial ground.
“He’s been totally supportive and excited about the project,” Critchley says. “He really has a handle not only on the cemetery and its history, but he really has a sense about how art might integrate into the cemetery.”
Provincetown artist Critchley was speaking in the mausoleum (which is no longer used), where two of the perform-ances and an archeological dig will take place. It also houses his installation, “Final Passage,” which will consist of a vintage Chevrolet wrapped like a mummy.
Work by Rhode Island artists include Rebecca Siemering’s “The Bells Ring for Thee,” in which handmade bells will sound out in Potter’s Field; Jae Wyllie Willard’s eight-foot mixed-media “Tree of Life;” Erik Carlson and Erik Gould’s “Strange Loop: An Ethereal Walking Tour of the North Burial Ground,” in which participants who bring GPS units will be guided to locations; and Jen Raimondi’s “Big Hair,” which simulates a flock of turkey vultures.
Works by out-of-state artists include Joseph Burwell’s mausoleum archeological dig, “The Purity of the Vikings”; Justin Pollmann’s disintegrating text in-stallation, “We Live;” Rochelle Martin, Valentine Mancini, and Jay McGuire’s construction of a place of repose, “Message Board;” and Sandrine Silverman and Alfred Schoeninger’s film, Our Stones Last Beyond Our Years.
In 2001 Critchley was artist-in-residence at AS220, where he worked on an art project called Providence Dirt, which explored underground spaces in Providence, including the mausoleum that now plays a part in “Cryptic Providence.”
Forty artists from around the country applied for inclusion. Applicants came to the burial ground to see how they re-sponded to the location. When he has spoken to area residents about “Cryptic Providence,” Critchley has been sur-prised that few have been to the cemetery that they often pass by. Simply getting people to visit the burial ground will be a significant accomplishment, he feels.
“Once they get here, they’ll discover the resources of what this historic site is about,” he says. “This is the oldest his-toric site in Providence. There are no other buildings or anything that are older than this.”
