Statement of Purpose:

The purpose of this commemorative display will be to demonstrate how democracy in Iraq and the United States have been inverse in nature, and require great sacrifices to perpetuate or destroy. It will be a conceptual art piece: a barren 25 x 25 concrete platform with a raised obelisk in the center. The obelisk will contain television screens on all four sides that will show old, wrinkled White hands unfolding a folding chair and then folding it again. As the folding chair is one of the most ancient pieces of furniture, rooted in 2000 b.c., it will effectively convey the depths of social history that were reflected in the back-and-forth transfer of democracy and bloodshed between the United States and Iraq.

The space will be cleared each day between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. A panel on the ground in one corner will slide open at noon to release two sparrows, symbolizing the potentiality for life and death inherent in the Iraq struggle. One will be shot by an automatic crossbow from the other corner, while the other will be trained to fly back into the panel. Groundskeepers will be responsible for maintaining the sparrow.