Pod Cosmos

Scheduled for completion in a new middle school by September of 2024, this proposal is commissioned by South Portland Schools through the State of Maine’s Percent-for-Art program.

On the ceiling of the school’s central corridor, this mural depicts an unusually large pod of humpback whales in silhouette. In the wild, humpback whales generally travel in small family pods of three or four, on very special occasions they will sometimes congregate in “comp-pods” of more than twenty. A familiar sight off the coast of Maine, the humpback whales depicted in this proposed mural can also be found in all of the earth’s oceans.

Cosmopolitanism is another word for global citizenship. In scientific terms, species are said to be cosmopolitan if they live in many different places throughout the world. We humans meet this criteria, inhabiting all seven continents. I want my kids and their classmates to be welcoming of newcomers and accepting of people's differences. I want them to understand themselves as citizens of the world and to consider our shared humanity as a fundamental bond of kinship.

These whales are projected onto the acoustic ceiling of the corridor between the school's lobby and gymnasium using an optical illusion called anamorphosis.

Anamorphosis is an optical illusion by which an image appears distorted but becomes clear when viewed from a key viewpoint, unique angle or through a particular lens. I want my kids and their classmates to learn to listen to people who have different perspectives and espouse different beliefs. I want them to be curious, open and inquiring- to strive for agreement and consensus through informed discussion.

The mural’s key image will appear completely clear and undistorted from just one point of view. Someone just under five feet tall would see it, if they stood just inside the corridor with their back to the wall between the two lobby doors. From other viewpoints and as students travel down the length of the corridor, these silhouettes will appear increasingly stretched, and distorted to varying degrees of abstraction.

The root of the word cosmopolitanism is Cosmos. It’s an ancient Greek concept of the universe as a well-ordered system. It presumes that all things can in theory, be made clear. I want my kids and their classmates to be relentless in search of both questions and answers. I also want them to cultivate a sense of wonder, though childhood, adolescence and into adulthood.