“Arc of the Moral Universe” (Replace existing text. Current text is in present tense.)
Artist, Carla Rae Johnson organized this creative, collective project involving bound notebooks completed by artists, writers, and critical thinkers. In 2018, Carla Rae invited thoughtful, creative individuals she knew to complete a bound notebook that responded to the famous quote about the “…arc of the moral universe…” The call declared:
This is an opportunity to envision our future, the “arc of the moral universe,” and the fate of our planet by recording your ideas, your feelings, and your vision to share with others. The 2016 presidential election in the U.S. and other social/political events around the globe, have ushered in challenging times. Creative people are the ones to register these events and respond in hopeful, compassionate, and positive ways.
And
Participants will include people from all walks of life, (not just those self-identified as artists or writers). … Your pages do not have to be profound, or perfect, or literary, or “artistic!” They only need to be authentically your own.
The fruits of this invitation were more than 80 notebooks filled with visual and verbal responses. Arc participants came from the Northeast, Midwest, South, and Southwest in the United States. Participants agreed to complete a 96 page notebook in one year (July 4, 2018 – July 4, 2019), and could choose to fill their notebook by themselves, or to collaborate with others to fill one or both sides of the pages. Contents included personal observations and opinions, visual ideas, political/social commentary, poetry, and stories: all generated to reflect upon the arc and its trajectory. The intention was to provide a format for consistent creative acts that would give viewers of the “Arc” an intimate look into contemporary creative minds and how they responded to the unique and troubling circumstances of current times. The “Arc” documented one year in each of their emotional and intellectual lives.
The “Arc of the Moral Universe: a Notebook Project” traveled between 2019 and 2022 to exhibition sites at art centers and libraries in New York State, and beyond.
