Between Fences: About This Exhibition
We hardly notice them, but fences are dominant features in our lives and in our history. There are thousands of types and they span millions of miles of the American countryside. Countless rivals seized post, rail, panel, and wire to stake their claims to land and resources. In 1871, the Department of Agriculture estimated the total value of fences in the United States at $1.7 billion, a sum almost equal to the national debt. Our past is defined by the cutting point of barbed steel and the rhythm of a white picket.
Built of hedge, concrete, wood and metal, the fence skirts our properties and is central to the American landscape. Between Fences enlightened audiences who live surrounded by these familiar objects whose history and meaning they hardly suspect. Visitors discovered how tightly the fence is entwined with politics, industry, and daily life. And, they were asked to think beyond physical fences and consider the metaphorical and cultural fences that Americans face – from racial and cultural differences to neighborhood and familial relationships. Our lives are full of boundaries – seen and unseen. The ability to expose the unexpected within the familiar – while revealing to visitors something about themselves – was one of Between Fences’ great strengths.
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