BRATTLEBORO — Independent artist Meg Donahue wondered what would happen if a whole town started watching for angels.
She asked herself how her community might react if, for one month, angels started appearing in Brattleboro in the most unexpected places: on the parking meter, behind the co-op, inside a shopping cart, in a coffee shop, on the steeple of the old church that is now a dance studio.
“You are driving into town to run errands,” she says. “It's hot, you can't find a parking space, and finally you manage to squeeze into a spot in Harmony Lot. You hop out of your car and hurry to your first appointment. On the parking lot side of the Tulip Café you notice an interesting piece of art. This might be a putti, a sculpture, or a painting - some interpretation of an angel. Intrigued, you glance at the placard, which reads: 'There are no coincidences. You've spotted this angel for a reason.'”
Donahue took that vision and turned it into a town-wide exhibition. As producer and the central artist of Watching Angels Interactive Public Art Show, and with the help of submissions from 40 artists and artist teams, she has organized non-permanent, exterior public artwork of 100 angels in September throughout Brattleboro.
Donahue says, “'Watching Angels' is a month-long interactive public art show based on two simple questions: What if you really could see angels? What if, when you spotted an angel, it had a message just for you? My goal is to place a hundred angels throughout downtown Brattleboro in interesting and quirky locations for the delight and enjoyment of the community. Each angel will have a specific message just for the viewer, retrievable via a placard next to the artwork with the name of the artist.”
She says that the show started with a small idea for just herself.
“Then I thought, Why not ask other artists to join me,” she adds.
She went on Kickstarter (http://kck.st/1aJAgjk) with a call to the public to create an angel of the participant's own visions. As Donahue explains, “Our artists could be painters, sculptors, musicians, children, folks from the senior center, 3-D mapping projectionists. The goal is to keep the whole idea closer to guerrilla art than organized art.”
Artists responded from Vermont and all over the country: Maine, New York, California, Ohio, and Illinois. There were also responses from Greece, Austria, Denmark, and South Africa.
In fact, some of these locations that are too far away to join in Brattleboro's festivities are planning satellite “Watching Angels” in their own area.
Donahue says she has no distinct idea of what constitutes an angel for each artist. The angel might well be a classical renaissance putti, which perhaps is what most people imagine an angel would look like.
“But a broad definition of angel is encouraged,” Donahue says, “with the only guidelines being that the image should look for a representation of our higher or better selves.”
Why is Donahue fascinated with angels?
“It certainly is no religious thing,” she says. “Although angels can be seen as a religious image, there are angels everywhere: angel investors, angel food cake, angel hair pasta, and the California Angels baseball team. We thank helpful people by saying, 'You're an angel,' and describe beautiful singing voices as angelic.
“Most importantly, we are inspired by everyday angels, like the Boston Marathon runners who just kept on running to the hospital to donate blood. Or the Vermont National Guard members who stepped up 24/7 to help us recover more quickly from Hurricane Irene. Or the nurses who went above and beyond to take care of my daughter who was born 14 weeks early. These angels, as well as the winged versions, will be celebrated by the show 'Watching Angels.'
“The policy for submission for the show specifically states that pieces cannot contain advertising, religious art, sexual content, negative imagery or convey political partisanship. Our intent is to be an uplifting, positive, and inspiring show in the way that the angels among us remind us of the best of ourselves,” Donahue says.
Each angel will have an identifying placard with its name and an uplifting and interesting message.
A viewer might read a Maori proverb, “Turn your face to the sun, and the shadows fall behind you.”
Or a quote from Marianne Williamson: “Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.”
A person stumbling upon an angel might find words of inspiration from such diverse sources as St. Francis of Assisi, Goethe, or even someone anonymous.
The message could be as simple as, “You're awesome.”
The placard also contains a QR code that directs someone scanning it with a mobile device to a simple, elegant, interactive website where there are other messages associated with each angel.
“We want to make the 'Watching Angels' experience immediate, compounding the joy of seeing an angel in an unexpected place with easy access to an 'angel message' via smart phone or computer,” Donahue says.
At the “Watching Angels” art show website, people can find a page for each angel and its message for the viewer.
“With a nod to kismet, each angel has many messages.” says Donahue. “Therefore even though you may visit the same angel on the Web twice in a day, the message may or may not be the same. In addition to its message, next to the angel is information about its artist, a brief bio, and sometimes a link to the artists' websites.”
After the month-long public “Watching Angels” art show, all remaining angels will gather at an art show titled “A Gathering of Angels Gala.”
“Whatever angels that are left will be there,” Donahue says. “I am not sure how many angels will be stolen throughout the month. I guess if someone feels compelled to steal an angel, that person must need it for some reason. But all others will be on sale at the closing gala.”
Donahue says she hopes to encourage the whole community to get into angels. “Go to our website (www.watchingangelsartshow.com) or scan our QR code, and get our personal uplifting message,” Donahue says. “It just may be what you need to hear today.”