Gold King & Associates
Project Description

During the busiest real estate season in one of the most competitive markets, Steven Yazzie’s installation takes form as a real estate sign, giving the appearance the property may be for sale. If an interested party calls the number on the sign (720.281.9199), they will not hear information about property for sale. They will hear a poem, quote or excerpt from a story, book or personal writing addressing environmental concerns around urbanization, land use, over development, colonization, or any range of expressions related to our human impacts in the land. At the end of the reading, the caller may leave a message of their own, which will be archived in the form of an audio file and transcribed in an email.

Each week through the summer or 2022, the voice message will become active with a new voice from the list below.

Wayne Rainey, Photographer & Artist, American

Desert Art Labs: April Borjorquez, Artist, Chicana, Matt Garcia, Artist, Chicano

Gregg Deal: Pyramid Lake Paiute, Artist

Nancy Barić, Canadian, Filmmaker

Andrea Hanley, Curator, Diné

Joshua Daniel: American, Woodsman

Dr Ramona Beltrán Xicana of Yaqui & Mexica descent, Educator

Jake Meders, Mechoopda, Artist/Educator

Patti Parsons, American, Artist

Saskia Jorda, Artist, Venezuelan, American

Dr. Marisa Duarte, Pascua Yaqui Tribe

Mark Woolcott, Photographer, American

Steven J. Yazzie, Navajo, Laguna Pueblo, European Ancestry

Gold King refers to the Gold King Mine wastewater spill from 2015 which caused the toxic release of wastewater into the Animas River watershed. By drawing attention to capitalist concepts of private property, ownership, and over-development in a place where water is a precious, dwindling resource, Yazzie is making a clear connection to the failures of the US Government in regard to environmental protection, while offering a platform for native and non-native voices to be heard, hopefully raising awareness and bringing attention to a crisis that has been unfolding for centuries.

About the Installation Location

The Yard is a site for public art located, quite literally, in a front yard in Colorado Springs. This is a project space run by artists, Ben Kinsley and Jessica Langley. They are interested in non-institutional, non-corporate public art, and how domestic spaces, such as a front lawn or backyard, contain both public and private areas which give opportunities to experience expressions of invention, creativity, care, or neglect. Installations will rotate quarterly and are open to the public.  Coordinates: 38.847596,-104.799216

WayneRainey