Report From PIA – December 15
I am spending a couple of days in my favorite city, San Francisco, and seeing some plaques on Union Square has me thinking. Set into the low walls around the square are brass plates depicting California native plants. Although there are some of these natives in scattered locations, for the most part the city isn’t filled with indigenous plants.
I love how beautifully they are done, and they cause me to mull over the ways we honor something in its absence. Art is a good way to remember things and people, as is including them in stories, songs and poems.
Speaking about what or who is missing, and calling them into the present moment by our remembrances is another way to make sure that the objects, plants or people have not disappeared completely.
So as I enjoy this city, I appreciate the art that marks the importance of regional plants, and I value the reminder to pay tribute to others who are absent at the time, be they people, qualities, actions, objects or plants.
