Mel Chin: Two Me

Mel Chin’s Two Me invites the public to elevate and pose as living monuments. A noted conceptual artist, Chin's work takes many different forms to pose philosophical questions about the nature of human experience and connection. Two Me was originally commissioned for the courtyard in front of Philadelphia’s City Hall in 2017.  The site-specific installation will find a temporary new home on the front terrace of the Toledo Museum of Art where it will be on display from Sept. 22 through Nov. 11, 2018. 

 

Two Me is a conceptual, interactive artwork, inviting visitors to engage in a performance by ascending the fully-accessible ramps to one of two identical seven-foot-tall pedestals, inscribed with the word “Me.” Individually, each visitor attains monumental status when reaching the top. Together, across both platforms, visitors create a “We,” as in “We the People.” Chin’s artwork balances the longing for individualism and the foundational spirit of coexistence embedded within American culture. 

Artwork Credit: Original support for Two Me, commissioned by Mural Arts Philadelphia as part of Monument Lab 2017, was provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Philadelphia.

 

The installation will be exhibited to coincide with SculptureX, a symposium hosted by multiple arts groups and universities to engage northwest Ohio with public sculpture by looking specifically at the topic of social practice.