Wayfinding Map:  Wayfinding

Wayfinding is a meditative installation of forty-eight sculptural signs placed throughout the grounds of Delaware Park and the Buffalo AKG campus. Through a combination of evocative and lyrical prose and archival images, Bass’s sculptures encourage moments of private reflection in public space.

The work revolves around five central questions written by the artist: 
 

How much of care is patience?
How much of life is coping?
How much of love is attention?
How much of hope is forgetting?
How much of belief is encounter?

 

And a question written specifically for the Buffalo installation of this work:

 

How much of truth is coherence?

 

 

Listen to the AKGo! Audio Artwork
Map of Delaware Park and the Buffalo AKG Art Museum Campus

How much of love is attention? 

 

 

How much of love is attention? 

A mirrored billboard that reads "How much of love is attention?"

I want to believe that desires can be different without being threatening.

A frosted sign that reads "I want to believe that desires can be different without being threatening"

The part of you that says, “I can share myself with strangers.”

A frosted sign that reads 'The part of you that says, “I can share myself with strangers.”'

There are times when I have agreed with you only in order to cast relief.

A frosted sign that reads "There are times when I have agreed with you only in order to cast relief."

In the absence of understanding, a minute can stretch to contain unlimited observations.

A frosted sign that reads "In the absence of understanding, a minute can stretch to contain unlimited observations."

A sign with an image of people holding hands

Every time I’ve nearly been killed I’ve survived it, but that doesn’t mean I’m out looking for more devastation in order to prove a point.

A small sign that reads "Every time I’ve nearly been killed I’ve survived it, but that doesn’t mean I’m out looking for more devastation in order to prove a point."

So much of desire seems predicated by absence. The things that keep someone still a mystery keep the want sharp.

There is a kind of impatience that in a certain light can be misplaced for eagerness.

A small sign that reads "here is a kind of impatience that in a certain light can be misplaced for eagerness."

You might want so much more than you know.

A small sign that reads "You might want so much more than you know."

How much of care is patience?

 

How much of care is patience?

A mirrored sign that reads "How much of care is patience? "

I want to believe that approaches can be different without being threatening.

A frosted sign that reads "I want to believe that approaches can be different without being threatening."

The part of you that says, “I can share myself with another.”

A frosted sign that reads "The part of you that says, '“I can share myself with another.”'

In the absence of language, a minute can stretch to contain a thousand thoughts.

A sign that reads "In the absence of language, a minute can stretch to contain a thousand thoughts. "

There are times when I have agreed with you only in order to go to sleep.

A frosted sign that reads "There are times when I have agreed with you only in order to go to sleep."

A glass sign with an image of someone reaching for a child in another person's arms

The unsettling sympathy and grace of someone who hands you the thing you need the second before you remember its name.

A small sign that reads "The unsettling sympathy and grace of someone who hands you the thing you need the second before you remember its name."

Perhaps the problem is that I find so many things perfectly revealing just as they are.

A small sign that reads "Perhaps the problem is that I find so many things perfectly revealing just as they are. "

In the annals of history, most of the things that made you cripplingly anxious for a brief period of time will probably go unrecorded.

A small sign that reads "In the annals of history, most of the things that made you cripplingly anxious for a brief period of time will probably go unrecorded. "

A single instance is an example of nothing. The minimum to define a pattern is three. Yet somehow we are primed to recognize exceptionalism and struggle to see at the level of daily behavior.

A single instance is an example of nothing. The minimum to define a pattern is three. Yet somehow we are primed to recognize exceptionalism and struggle to see at the level of daily behavior.

How much of truth is coherence?  

 

 

How much of truth is coherence?

A mirrored billboard that reads "How much of truth is coherence?"

I want to believe that reactions can be different without being threatening.

A frosted sign that reads "I want to believe that reactions can be different without being threatening."

The part of you that says, “I shared, and then I hid.”

A sign that reads "The part of you that says, “I shared, and then I hid.”

There are times when I have agreed with you only in order to feel akin.

A sign that reads "There are times when I have agreed with you only in order to feel akin. "

In the absence of sympathy, a minute can stretch to contain irreparable misunderstanding.

A sign that reads "In the absence of sympathy, a minute can stretch to contain irreparable misunderstanding. "

Struggling to hold to this bare minimum of humanity: that when you show me brutality, I will weep.

A small sign that reads "Struggling to hold to this bare minimum of humanity: that when you show me brutality, I will weep. "

The certain specific and irrational inconsistencies people display while falling in love that later require consolation once they’ve fallen out.

A small sign that reads "The certain specific and irrational inconsistencies people display while falling in love that later require consolation once they’ve fallen out. "

In the depths of what feels like despair, the sudden revelatory experience of heat.

A small sign that reads "In the depths of what feels like despair, the sudden revelatory experience of heat."

A hesitance to say in front of others, I hurt, knowing that the response will be not any form of care, but pain inflicted on thousands of others—people you never would have chosen.

A small sign that reads "A hesitance to say in front of others, I hurt, knowing that the response will be not any form of care, but pain inflicted on thousands of others—people you never would have chosen."

How much of life is coping? 

 

 

How much of life is coping?

A mirrored billboard that reads "How much of life is coping?"

I want to believe that interpretations can be different without being threatening.

A sign that reads "I want to believe that interpretations can be different without being threatening."

The part of you that says “I can share myself with strangers, but not with family.”

A sign that reads "The part of you that says “I can share myself with strangers, but not with family.”

There are times when I have agreed with you only in order to stay alive.

A sign that reads "There are times when I have agreed with you only in order to stay alive. "

In the absence of perspective, a minute can stretch to contain innumerable fears.

A sign that reads "In the absence of perspective, a minute can stretch to contain innumerable fears. "

The unparalleled mix of emotions when someone who loves you calls to say: rest. I see what you’re doing, and the world needs you to be well. Joy, sorrow, and a relief so profound it’s almost bitter.

A sign that reads "The unparalleled mix of emotions when someone who loves you calls to say: rest. I see what you’re doing, and the world needs you to be well. Joy, sorrow, and a relief so profound it’s almost bitter."

You’ll have to trust me when I say that many of the things I appear to know most deeply, I feel I know by accident.

A small sign that reads "You’ll have to trust me when I say that many of the things I appear to know most deeply, I feel I know by accident. "

Some days you call out to the world and all that echoes back is your own emptiness.

Good days are easier to describe than to interpret. Maybe that’s the point of happiness: it isn’t symbolic. It’s just a real thing, and then it passes.

A small sign that reads "Good days are easier to describe than to interpret. Maybe that’s the point of happiness: it isn’t symbolic. It’s just a real thing, and then it passes."

How much of hope is forgetting?  

How much of hope is forgetting?

A mirrored billboard that reads "How much of hope is forgetting?"

I want to believe that needs can be different without being threatening. The part of you that says sharing is a form of control.

There are times when I have agreed with you only in order to move ahead.

A sign that reads "There are times when I have agreed with you only in order to move ahead. "

An acrylic sign with an image of arms embracing

The beauty and true sweetness of walking into the new year with every hunger awakened.

Certain kinds of hot strength can carry us, certain kinds of tolerance can cure.

We’re not so different. Like you, I’m perfectly capable of seeing beauty where there is none.

It turns out to be true that love can return you to parts of yourself. The challenge is that you never know which parts.

How much of belief is encounter?

How much of belief is encounter?

A mirrored billboard that reads "How much of belief is encounter?"

I want to believe that bodies can be different without being threatening. 

A sign that reads "How much of belief is encounter?"

The part of you that says it cannot be shared.

A sign that reads "The part of you that says it cannot be shared."

There are times when I have agreed with you only in order to find myself.

A sign that reads "There are times when I have agreed with you only in order to find myself. "

In the absence of contact, a minute can stretch to contain countless ghosts.

A sign that reads "In the absence of contact, a minute can stretch to contain countless ghosts."

A song you know by heart that brings no consolation.

The difficult realization that crisis might be the chance to do what we should have been doing all along.

A song you know by heart that brings no consolation.

The difficult realization that crisis might be the chance to do what we should have been doing all along.

Of this time, I offer a future apology: we answered every question that was presented, but stayed mute on what was never asked.

It doesn’t take a genius to know that repetition is a very different thing from sentiment.

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