The Hearts Project - "Panel Prototype" prints

by Monica Moore, 10 x 11.5" print from The Hearts Project

20% of sales will help support continued work on the project

The Hearts Project: A COVID-19 Memorial

The Hearts Project is a multi-dimensional work of collage art conceived, created, and coordinated by Northwest Arkansas artist, Monica Anne Moore. This first installation features 2,700 hand-cut hearts symbolizing COVID deaths in Arkansas. It is, however, an ongoing project because Moore, joined by several volunteers have cut hearts that exceed 13,068-- the final death toll reported by the state of Arkansas to The New York Times on March 23, 2023.

This first phase of the project includes arrangements of 2,700 hearts within three large, custom-designed frames made by woodworker hobbyist Joel Doelger. The frames include a total of nine sections, and within those sections are nestled panels that feature 100 hearts each.

Hearts were cut from a wide variety of consumer print materials—fashion/merchandise catalogues, print ads from newspapers, promotional brochures, and lifestyle magazines.

“As I reflected on these materials, one dominant persuasive message began to emerge—namely, ‘Buy these products and forget about the pandemic,’” Moore says. “Destroying that message by cutting hearts from the materials opened space for a new perspective—namely, ‘Reflect upon my art and never forget the toll the pandemic took on our lives.’”

“The process of cutting and counting and the custom frame design presented ways to arrange the hearts in collages that resemble patchwork quilts, with each featured quilt pattern incorporating select colors, designs and imagery that carry meaning and, like the work performed by many quilts, house memory. Such artistry, composed with our individually cut 2” x 2” paper hearts, revives stories from the pandemic that not only invite you to contemplate the individual lives lost to the virus but also to honor important lived experiences of those who survived, but not without physical and/or psychological damage.”

Moore represents the losses from several groups with color designations:

• ·      “The Purple Hearts” frame represents the heroic efforts of a diverse spectrum of healthcare professionals serving COVID patients on the frontlines and in supporting roles;
• ·      “Our Frontline Workers” features black and shades of brown hearts to represent our essential workforce, comprised of mostly Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color. Within that frame, Moore gives particular attention to Marshallese migrant workers in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley who suffered large losses due to complex socio-political/cultural reasons.
• ·      There is also a special frame dedicated to “Dani,” the niece of Alice Dawson, one of the volunteers who helped cut out the hearts. Many of Alice’s heart donations are placed within “A Spiritual Crossing,” the frame with a center panel featuring imagery chosen to evoke Dani’s “spirit.” For Alice, cutting hearts was a way to honor the beloved niece she was isolated from at the time of death and during subsequent days of mourning.