What
do you want to do before you die?
Candy Chang contextualizes this
question in New Orleans after the storm, the wake of tremendous personal
loss, and the Stoics’ suggestion that to contemplate death is to
restore perspective and make life meaningful. Chang introduces her book
with this context, and then goes on to describe her project to paint an
abandoned house in her neighborhood with chalkboard paint and stencil it
with a grid of the sentence, “Before I die I want to ________________.”
Anyone walking by could pick up a piece of chalk, reflect on their
lives, and share their personal aspirations in public. This book shares highlights via text and photographs of Chang’s New Orleans installation, and then goes on to show images and quotes as the community art installation found new life in new environs. Artists and
community members in Jerusalem, Germany, South Africa, Thailand, and
more created similar projects to similar effect. The book also includes
“remixes,” stats, and directions for making this kind of wall project.
This book can inspire students to talk about public art, to think about
the questions worth asking, and to reflect on what they hope to
accomplish, as well as evoke responses to the aspirations from around
the world contained within the covers. The design of the book uses
pulled quotes against solid color rectangles alongside colorful images
of text, rendering it accessible for emerging readers as well as their
more sophisticated peers. Recommended for independent reading, inquiry,
and art educators. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber
Chang, Candy. Before I Die. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2013. Print.
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