Chang took a different approach to Augustus’ new arm: instead of pointing it upward in triumphant conquest, the floppy limb skews downward, pointing a finger at any viewer standing at the statue’s base. After a few days, she replaced it with a flailing inflatable tube, like the ones that are sometimes stationed outside of car dealerships and other businesses.
“I wanted to do a piece that referenced the history of the statue being treated irreverently but also subverted the question of what kind of power monuments can hold over us,” Chang said. “So I came up with the idea of replacing the arm, but making it antithetical to what the original art was.”
Chang will lead a public tour of the emperor’s new appendage and other site-specific artworks on Sunday, May 12, at 11 a.m. Starting at 79 Brown St. in Providence, Chang will lead the public across campus on a journey through her five installations that respond to existing structures on Brown’s campus.
From four whimsical, wavy and wandering columns on the porch of the Peter Green House — inspired by the building’s 2007 relocation — to a sidewalk crack filled with quahog shells — a recognition of Brown’s presence within the ancestral homelands of the Narragansett Indian Tribe — Chang’s work aims to appeal to a broad range of viewers.
“I embrace the reality that public art, for most people, is something that’s passed by very quickly,” she said. “Instead of bemoaning that, I want to give something to the people who are rushing to class or work. At the same time, I want my work to be well-researched and have a deep enough meaning that, if you’re an art enthusiast, you might spend some time with the piece and get something else out of it.”
And there’s a lot that goes into it. In addition to the actual design and fabrication of her artwork, Chang spent a significant amount of time coordinating with entities across campus — like Facilities Management and Brown’s Public Art Working Group — to secure the proper permissions required to install her pieces.
