This artwork is about how as a country we are forcing our ideas of goodness upon other countries so our halo has fallen. It reminds us of all those who died from falling cranes in our rush to force buildings up too quickly. It is a metaphor for the current economic times. And it speaks to those us of who try to force goodness into bad relationships.
Forcing Goodness builds on the use of the halo throughout art history and at the same time questions what is holy? The Catholic Church traditionally decides who is canonized as a saint and who isn’t. Yet, the Catholic Church itself has fallen and is forcing itself up.
The heavy chains and hook serve the practical purpose of helping secure the halo and weigh it down so it won’t blow away in the wind; just as we are weighing goodness down (while at the same time showing how we are trying to force this halo up). The three chains also represent the holy trinity.
Over the course of the exhibition, the sculpture weathered and started to become more and more a part of the landscape. The process parallels a sin which is so bright and shiny when first committed. Then, as time goes by, dulls and blends in with its environment.
