2024

mild steel, aluminum, torch-fired vitreous enamel

Frostburg Museum

Frostburg, Maryland

This sculpture is a monument to the Brownsville and Park Avenue community, which was established in the late 19th century and displaced in waves by expansions of Frostburg University. Working in collaboration with historians and community members of The Brownsville Project, we created a human-sized, iconographic image of the first lot of land purchased by Tamar Brown, Lot # 1 of Beall's Parcel, and an enameled map to reflect the vibrant community which followed. The sculpture outlines the silvery shape of Tamar Brown's lot and the beginning edges of Elizabeth Jackson's lot next door. The number "1" is cut through the sculpture; as the sun moves around the sculpture, the light shines through, glowing within the sculpture’s shadow on the ground. Descendants gathered to hammer family names into the steel of the sculpture near ancestral lots on the map. As understanding of the history of the community changes, or more names discovered, additional names can be hammered into the sculpture.

The intention is to establish an image and symbol of the Brownsville community which is in particular reference to Tamar Brown but which also generates questions and curiosity through the wider Frostburg community about what the image means. The #1 on the land plat is an undeniable testament to Tamar Brown’s presence and the history of the homes in Brownsville.

With funding support from the Maryland State Arts Council through the Public Art Across Maryland program and in collaboration with Frostburg First and The Brownsville Project.