ITEMS LEFT AT THE WALL

Lyons VA / NJ P.T.S.D. wind chime. Produced in February 1997, the wind chime represents the final project for participants in the Lyons NJ P.T.S.D. program and bears the names and dates of military service of many program participants who helped to create it. A hand-painted inscription upon the exterior surface of the central ceramic bell alludes to the symbolic significance of the item and reads, "LYONS V.A. P.T.S.D. / BY OURSELVES WE ARE SILENT / BUT TOGETHER WE MAKE A SOUND". The artifact was left at The Wall along with an associated suede glove (VIVE (11844)) by participants of the Lyons P.T.S.D. program between February - March 1997.

LYONS V.A. / N.J. P.T.S.D. WIND CHIME. THE OBJECT CONSISTS OF A FRAME COMPRISED OF THREE (3) ROUGH WOOD, UNFINISHED TREE BRANCHES ARRANGED IN TRIPOD FASHION AND SECURED AT THE UPPER ENDS VIA LENGTHS OF COPPER WIRE, METAL SCREWS, AND AN UNIDENTIFIED GRAY COLORED CHEMICAL ADHESIVE, WHILE THE LOWER ENDS OF THE THREE (3) BRANCHES ARE AFFIXED TO ONE ANOTHER VIA LENGTHS OF COPPER WIRE STRUNG THROUGH THREE (3) (ONE (1) FOR EACH BRANCH) METAL EYELET SCREWS. SUSPENDED FROM THE POINT OF CONFLUENCE OF THE TRIPOD FRAME VIA A LENGTH OF INTERWOVEN RED, YELLOW, AND GREEN YARN IS A LARGE, HOLLOW, GLAZED CERAMIC BELL PAINTED IN THE COLORS OF THE VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL RIBBON (I.E. RED, YELLOW, AND GREEN), AND BEARING A HANDWRITTEN INSCRIPTION IN BLACK PAINT AND BLOCK SCRIPT AROUND THE EXTERIOR CIRCUMFERENCE IDENTIFYING THE ORGANIZATION RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THE OBJECT, "LYONS V.A. P.T.S.D." AND MAKING REFERENCE TO THE SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OBJECT, "BY OURSELVES WE ARE SILENT / BUT TOGETHER WE MAKE A SOUND". AT THE INTERIOR OF THE CERAMIC BELL ARE TWO (2) HANDWRITTEN INSCRIPTIONS IN BLACK PAINT AND BLOCK SCRIPT/ARABIC NUMERALS MAKING REFERENCE TO THE DATE OF PRODUCTION OF THE OBJECT, "FEB 97" AND THE LOCATION AT WHICH THE OBJECT WAS PRODUCED, "BLD 57". SUSPENDED FROM THE CENTER OF THE INTERIOR OF THE BELL, VIA A LENGTH OF INTERWOVEN RED, YELLOW, AND GREEN YARN, IS A STRING OF THREE (3) CIRCULARLY SHAPED, GLAZED CERAMIC DISKS CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER VIA SHORT LENGTHS OF TRANSLUCENT MONOFILAMENT LINE TIED TO TINY HOLES DRILLED INTO THE UPPER AND LOWER CENTER EDGE OF EACH DISK. THE DISKS IN THE CENTER STRING ARE ARRANGED, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM, THUSLY: UPPER DISK WHITE WITH HANDWRITTEN INSCRIPTION IN BLACK PAINT AND BLOCK SCRIPT/ARABIC NUMERALS AT THE OBVERSE AND REVERSE OBJECT SURFACES IDENTIFYING THE DATE OF PRODUCTION, "FEB. 1997", CENTER DISK PAINTED AT THE OBVERSE AND REVERSE OBJECT SURFACES WITH ALTERNATING, VERTICAL RED, YELLOW, AND GREEN STRIPES INTENDED TO ALLUDE TO THE VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL RIBBON, AND LOWER DISK WHITE WITH HANDWRITTEN A DESIGN IN BLACK PAINT AND BLOCK SCRIPT AT THE OBVERSE AND REVERSE OBJECT SURFACES IDENTIFYING THE ORGANIZATION RESPONSIBLE FOR PRODUCTION OF THE OBJECT, "P.T.S.D. LYONS N.J.". ARRANGED AROUND THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE LOWER EDGE OF THE CERAMIC BELL AND SUSPENDED FROM THE BELL VIA LENGTHS OF TRANSLUCENT, MONOFILAMENT LINE (IN A FASHION IDENTICAL TO THAT PREVIOUSLY REFERENCED) ARE EIGHT (8) STRINGS CONSISTING OF TWO (2) GLAZED CERAMIC DISKS EACH AND COMPRISED OF ONE (1) DISK PAINTED AT THE OBVERSE AND REVERSE OBJECT SURFACES WITH ALTERNATING, VERTICAL RED, YELLOW, AND GREEN STRIPES INTENDED TO ALLUDE TO THE VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL RIBBON AND ANOTHER DISK WHITE WITH HANDWRITTEN INSCRIPTIONS IN BLACK PAINT AND BLOCK SCRIPT/ARABIC NUMERALS AT THE OBVERSE AND REVERSE OBJECT SURFACES IDENTIFYING LYONS P.T.S.D. MEMBERS/DATES OF MILITARY SERVICE. THE OBJECT IS ASSOCIATED WITH VIVE (11844), A GLOVE WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY DISCOVERED LEFT ON TOP OF THE OBJECT.

Text of selected hand-painted inscriptions upon the various object surfaces is transcribed in full, as follows: [Ceramic bell, exterior object surface, hand-painted inscription] "LYONS V.A. P.T.S.D. / BY OURSELVES WE ARE SILENT / BUT TOGETHER WE MAKE A SOUND" / [Ceramic bell, interior object surface, hand-painted inscriptions] "FEB 97 / BLD 57"

Item Weight: 1950.0g
Item Width: 70.5cm
Item Height: 102.0cm
Item Depth: 192.5cm (Total footprint / circumference at base)