Viewfinder: "Sean Connaughty at ARThouse" by Jacinda Davis

Front of Winter Survival Pod. Photo courtesy of the author.

I always look forward to the beginning of winter. However, after the joy of the first snowfall has left and the holiday season is through it suddenly settles in that winter could drag on for several more agonizing months. I get hit with that dreadful feeling, the one that questions how I will make it through the long, dark, cold nights. While exploring Sean Connaughty’s “Winter Survival Pod,” I was reminded of this struggle of physical and psychological survival.

Displayed on the front lawn of ARThouse, the Winter Survival Pod stands in contrast to modern shelter. Branches, leaves, and twine make up its egg-like form. I wondered if any other creatures had taken up residence inside. I slipped into the darkness of the sculpture, leaving the bitter wind behind me. The rows of houses and cars driving by faded from my senses. Encapsulated by the pod I felt safe. I was comfortable being alone with my thoughts. I stretched out my legs on the bed of crushed leaves and imagined I’d be quite content hibernating in the pod for the rest of winter.

I curiously peered out of little openings where leaves once were, a sign that the sculpture and winter itself was slowly breaking down. As I gazed between the crisscrossing of twigs I saw that the last of the day’s golden light was fading fast. It won’t be long now until the sun will set on this bleak season and the pod will be returned to the very earth it came from. It stands as a reminder that no matter the will to survive, the time for everything must come to an end.

Inside the Pod Looking Out, The Form of a Person Appears. Photo courtesy of the author.

In the Pod. Photo courtesy of the author.

Inside the Pod Looking Out. Photo courtesy of the author.

Entrance of Pod From Above. Photo courtesy of the author.

About the Author: Jacinda Davis is a photographer and graphic designer that also enjoys writing, running outside during the golden hour, and scheming ways to go on more road trips. Until her new website is launched you can visit her personal photo blog at http://allfall.tumblr.com/

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Viewfinder posts are your opportunity to “show & tell” about the everyday arts happenings, interesting sights and sounds made or as seen by Minnesota artists, because art is where you find it.  Submit your own informal, first-person responses to the art around you to katie(at)mnartists.org, and we may well publish your piece here on the blog. (Guidelines: 300 words or less, not about your own event/work, and please include an image, media, video, or audio file, and one sentence about yourself.)