A neighbor of mine is currently replacing the engine of a rusty sedan on the street in front of their home. This has me thinking about happenings that I see in my daily activities that are absent from Cranbrook. Where do people place their value? In function? Aesthetic? When did antique, crusty farm implements become yard art? Why do people hold on to their old cars rather than sell or scrap them? Where is the value in having more projects than one could ever complete in a lifetime?
Replacing the head gasket in front of Cranbrook House allows me time to contemplate my investments into the things that I care about. I undertake this effort as a performance in juxtaposition to the pristine estate—emphasizing the disparities in our values. Despite our dissemblance, the institution and I are both invested in the same act of preservation. It shows what lengths we go through to hold onto the past—hoping to be useful in the future.