Column of Earth and Air

(Free Speech Monument)

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This project was winner of a national public art competition to commemorate the 1964 Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley. It uses the political process to create a space free from any outside jurisdiction. A six-inch column of land and airspace is redefined as not being a part of any nation, state or city therefore no laws are applicable within the small space. An engraved granite ring was installed framing the small piece of land and bears the inscription:  “This soil and the airspace extending above it shall not be a part of any nation and shall not be subject to any entity’s jurisdiction.” The free space attracts speakers and political events to the site and frames speakers as living monuments to the Free Speech Movement.