{"id":14915,"date":"2013-04-29T14:00:20","date_gmt":"2013-04-29T19:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=14915"},"modified":"2013-04-29T05:19:25","modified_gmt":"2013-04-29T10:19:25","slug":"austin-peay-state-universitys-barry-jones-shares-communitys-hopes-and-dreams-with-new-art-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2013\/04\/29\/austin-peay-state-universitys-barry-jones-shares-communitys-hopes-and-dreams-with-new-art-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin Peay State University’s Barry Jones shares community’s hopes and dreams with new art project"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – Barry Jones, Austin Peay State University associate professor of art, sat at his desk in a small basement studio off First Street in downtown Clarksville. The room was dark because of the rain outside.<\/p>\n

It tapped softly against the windows while Jones rubbed his hand through his beard. He seemed as if he could use a cup of coffee or something with a bit of caffeine. His eyes, usually gleaming with a quiet happiness, were red from staring at a computer screen on this dreary Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"Barry<\/a>

Barry Jones, APSU associate professor of art, works on his new \u201cCommon Hope\u201d project. (Photo by Beth Liggett\/APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWhat does it mean to live a good life?\u201d he asked. \u201cI have no idea, but I\u2019m hoping to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones, a married father of four, was awarded a Faculty Professional Development Assignment this semester to explore that and other fundamental questions about existence. He traveled throughout the Clarksville community, collecting answers from a wide range of citizens, and he has turned their responses into the dynamic, community art piece, \u201cCommon Hope,\u201d which he plans to unveil to the entire city the week of May 20th-26th. During those seven days, Jones will project their words onto public buildings while playing audio clips of their answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems that Clarksville\u2019s answer to living a good life is to follow your dreams and have a positive impact,\u201d Jones said. \u201cDespite what broadcast television is telling us, we\u2019re probably not as divided or different as we think. Family seems to be very, very important to everyone. They also want to live a life they\u2019re proud of. That\u2019s pretty inspiring. And it doesn\u2019t seem to matter where on the political spectrum they are. When it comes right down to it, as a community, our core values are pretty consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones, an APSU alumnus, returned to Clarksville eight years ago, and he considers the community his home. This is where his children go to school and have made friends, and he plans to stay here throughout his career at APSU. This connection to Clarksville got him thinking recently about his responsibility as an artist.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the role of an artist in a community?\u201d he asked. \u201cWhat\u2019s my role? Is it to make discrete objects to sell? I decided I wanted to be involved. I wanted to know Clarksville.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the last three months, Jones has visited local public institutions, such as schools, churches and community and senior centers. Armed with a digital audio recorder, he has asked everyone from children to senior citizens, conservatives to liberals, four simple questions. What are your hopes and dreams? What is the most important thing in your life? What does it mean to live a good life? What are our responsibilities to each other?<\/p>\n

[320left]\u201cMy theory was that the hopes and dreams of a child in elementary school would be very similar to the hopes and dreams of a senior citizen, and I set out to prove it,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWhat I\u2019m looking for is those common hopes. And when we talk about responsibility, everybody says we have to take care of each other. We may disagree on how, but it’s nice that we all want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones did a similar project in Spartanburg, SC, with typographic animation of people\u2019s responses projected onto the local library. The result, along with the audio responses, made it seem as if the public building was talking.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy attitude toward art making has changed a lot, and how I think about success as an artist really,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThis won\u2019t be in galleries. I\u2019m making it for the city really. It\u2019s public art, but in a new way. It\u2019s not a bronze figure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dates and locations for the \u201cCommon Hope\u201d projections are<\/h3>\n