Common Ground 191:

Uncommon Goal Unites Countries in Art

Gary Simpson, a concrete artist and owner of the firm Kaldari in Orange County, Calif., has a unique project in the works, Common Ground 191 (www.CommonGround191.com), which exemplifies the idea that everyone in the world has something in commonthe ground we tread on.

For some time, I wanted to execute a large scale Fresco projectthe idea always focused on a matrix, Simpson explains of the impetus for the project. After 9/11, it became more apparent there were some acute problems in the world demonstrated by that eventThe idea for the project is that the world is a small circle, and how small the world really is.

Simpson says he thought an art piece could demonstrate that concept, and his idea was to collect soils from various countries. His vision: a large series of 196 abstract panels (one for each of the 191 countries in the United Nations and five discretionary) with each panel about 42 inches by 42 inches square that, when assembled, would span 50 feet by 50 feet. To prepare each piece, Simpson (and volunteers) intends to collect soil (or sand) from each of the 191 nations. The mixture will then be incorporated in the texture of the total.

On the Common Ground 191 website, Simpson states, Behind the physical fact that each piece includes a part of each country, integrated into the individual complexion of the piece lays the foundation of my concept as a whole. It is composed, like the Earth itself, of visible masses floating on tectonic plates, converging and diverging.

But the magma on which they all rest is common ground. The individual pieces will reflect the identity of each nation, but the implication of the whole is that there is an underlying unity. Just as plate boundaries don't always correspond to continents, so too are national boundaries an artifact of human history. And just as the geography of the Earth has changed and is changing through plate tectonics, this project expresses for me the necessity of change and the unifying wisdom of the process.

Simpson admits that process has evolved slowly. I was naive, but I quickly became aware the U.S. Department of Agriculture (now part of Homeland Security) had to be involved, he recalls of the early days. After obtaining permission from the USDA, Simpson was given permit stickers.

Soil collectors must get a kit from Simpson (he can mail it to them or they can pick it up). The kits is basically a plastic jar in a box with a DHL delivery service waybill on it, as well as a soil permit sticker from the USDA. That sticker allows each package to find its way through customs to the USDA office closest to Simpsonin this case, the office at LAX airport. [The USDA] sterilize the soil and authenticate it, because we dont want critters coming in from other places, Simpson explains.


Prepared package for soil collection volunteers

Volunteers have no expenses, they must simply be willing to receive the box of materials, collect the soil and deliver it to the in-country freight carrier or office. Special arrangements are made to accommodate those companies or organizations who are able to provide multi-country volunteers.

The project has three main components: transportation, storage and production. The transportation/transit requirements for the project include the collection and delivery of sand/soil samples from each of the nations, worldwide; transportation of the finished work from the assembly site to the place of its final unveiling and display; and delivery of the work collectively or distributively to the post-exhibition owners.


Dept of Agriculture personnel processing an inbound Common
Ground soil sample Hawthorne, CA
Soil Collection Collection Wall Laguna Beach, CA

Facilities required for the project consist of staging/storage of the art materials in an enclosed space of 3,600 square feet for about seven months during assembly, as well as temporary production space (10,000 square feet for two months to accommodate the entire layout and the execution of the design).

Production and planning steps for the process include soil collection; substrate and fresco materials and assembly; acquisition of GPS locating and communication devices for each piece, to enable the future virtual re-assembly of the complete work from images of the distributed pieces; preparation of staff to coordinate all phases of production, display planning and publicity; and the finished and final production process of all 196 panels in one concentrated multi-week session.

Simpson envisions presentation and exhibition of the piece in an unusually large exhibit space appropriate for viewing by the public, including sourcing, planning, hosting, and promotion of a public unveiling and exhibition of the work. Hes also hoping for a documentary film recording the creation of the work and evolution of the project.

I would hope to have the piece unveiled as a whole, which would require a very large exhibit space, perhaps at the United Nations, says Simpson on the Common Ground 191 website. Should the Sponsor of the work decide to gift or distribute the individual panels regionally or even worldwide, I envision a GPS transponder being attached to each piece so that the complete work could be reassembled virtually at some point in the future to track the State of the Earth.

In the early part of 2002, Simpson began gathering information for the project, and he quickly realized he needed a place to disseminate information to the public. Through his connection to The Concrete Network, of which Simpson is a member, Jim Peterson (president of The Concrete Network, www.concretenetwork.com) volunteered to make and host a website, and www.commonground191.com was born.

Working with the USDA is just one of the many hoops Simpson has had to jump through for this project, which he says is closest to his heart. For example, when someone Simpson knew was traveling to Iran and offered to collect soil from there, Simpson learned he had to get authorization from Foreign Asset Control (they approve any substance or product coming into the U.S. from Iran).

They turned me down, so I asked my Congressman for help, says Simpson. He made contact with the State Department, and then they O.K.d it. Simpson adds that the benefit of the governments hoops is that any soil collected for the project is authenticated.

Currently, Simpson has collected soils from close to 60 countries and says thats a pace he can afford (each one-way shipping fee runs $80 to $100 per kit). The first sample he received was in 2003 from Bolivia, collected by a State Senator traveling there for a conference.

Simpson says he always tries to get a picture of both the collector and the site where the soil was collected to add to the ongoing journal on the Common Ground 191 website. Some of the soil collection sites, such as the Sachsenhausen Memorial Grounds in Germany and Robben Island in South Africa, bear the history and tragedy of thousands of people.

Some people are enthusiastic about the project, others are benign [to it], notes Simpson, adding that due to the scale of the challenge, he is always seeking reliable volunteers, both individuals and companies with diversified global operations, who can help.

Gary Simpson is a lifelong resident of Laguna Beach, Calif. He received his Arts degree from California State University at Long Beach in 1971 and immediately began his art career in 1972, exhibiting at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna. He has participated in the Festival of Arts juried exhibition since 1999.

Simpson has worked with cement as a medium of artistic expression since 1986. Years of dedicated effort in developing unique cement mixtures have culminated in his lively, colorful abstract frescoes. These large-scale works are complex explorations of color, texture and shape that emerge from his ongoing experiment with material and technique.

Besides collecting soil in person, there are other ways to support Common Ground 191. You can pre-purchase one of the finished panels for your own collection, or underwrite a specific portion of the project either directly or with in-kind services (such as transportation, exhibition venue and production space). Corporate inquiries concerning sponsorship or underwriting, including project-appropriate in-kind services or whole project support, are also welcome, and innovative and creative support options are invited.

About his work, Simpson says, "I take my medium and my inspiration from the Earth. Cement has been used for centuries as a building material, but in using it as an artistic medium, I free it from its functionality in a work of art. In the same way that cement is an extract of the Earth, I view my abstract art as expressions of my relation to the Earth."

Gary Simpson
Gary@commonground191.com
Tel:(949) 494-3046
386 Locust Street
Laguna Beach, California 92651
www.commonground191.com

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