The Alzheimer's Project
Elaine Longtemps 63 GD is collecting memories for a large project on Alzheimer's Disease.
She plans to use 3419 ropes painted in shades of grays representing neurons and 3872 double-sided strips of text on fabric in vivid colors representing memories. The ropes and fabric strips will suspend from a 176"W x 28"H gridded canvas on which is painted the word ALZHEIMER'S gradating from pale gray on the left to black on the right. Increasingly from left to right, the ropes and fabric strips will systematically fall to the floor in heaps and tangles representing destroyed neurons and lost memories slowly revealing the word, the disease, until the word, the disease, is totally revealed. There will be nothing on the canvas and a huge mound of rope and fabric on the floor.
She is currently requesting contributions of alumni memories. They could be pleasant or sad memories, related or not to the disease of Alzheimer's. She has 377 memories thus far in 3 different languages including one from a ten-year old in Guatemala and one from a musician who knew Aaron Copeland when he was suffering from Alzheimer's and describes an afternoon spent with him at that time. Your memory should be a minimum of four sentences and any length. She will print your name and your location and paint the fabric any color you request.
Memories should be sent to elongtemps@gmail.com with The Alzheimer's Project in the subject line. Her website highlights the work she does but this project is not mentioned on the site. She was invited to present my project to employees of the National Cancer Institute during the pandemic lockdown.
