I really loved koko's work this year with her SMP. Her work incorporates a huge mural that takes place in the lower section of Ann Arundel Hall as well as a large cork board display in the gallery with a small video attached. For her current work, Koko really wanted to involve a community aspect, and that was very evident with the work that she displayed to the student body. In the gallery, one can see just how much work went into creating her final project, whether it be interviews, meetings, writing emails and even going around to every teacher mailbox. The video that plays during the instillation is a video of some of the student body who were involved in creating the mural. Not only does this piece show just how much the community was involved within her project, but also just how dedicated one person can be to involving the community with themselves. Although someone lives in a certain area, that doesn't necessarily mean that they participate in events or organizations around the community, and the same goes for St. Mary's College. Though, with Koko's work, members from all over the campus community were invited to participate in this large artwork piece, which invites members from different parts of the campus to share their ideas and goals with each other, in one single piece. In the mural in lower Ann Arundel Hall, there are several rooms, one of which has a table with several pamphlets to different organizations, all of which involve the community atmosphere. In another room, a small hand painted flower garden is displayed on a light blue wall, which is later discovered from her gallery photos, to be painted by young children. With her work I really found some similarities, even though her goals seem to be more oriented towards the community involvement, whereas my work is more about the community history. Setting up a large mural in a building that is planned to be torn down is one similarity, where my current work rests on the top floor of the building. Placing a permanent exhibition in an area that we know is going to be destroyed, let's the viewer know that its really not about the artwork staying up, but about everyone being involved with it. Although my current work doesn't involve too much of the community, I still think that the viewers will question how areas like these can exist in their own communities, which may lead them to question more social issues in their own areas. I really hope Koko continues with more mural work such as this, in even larger communities that involve way more social injustices than St.Mary's county does.
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