From Pagans to Proletariats:
By Brad Ball

In pre-modern times, May 1st was recognized as a sort of "new year", the start of the growing season. As such it was an occaision devoted to fertility and the renewal of Nature. Today it may prove difficult for most of us to comprehend just how important, how central and vital fertility was to our agrarian ancestors. They believed that May Day, (and the preceeding night known as Walpurgisnacht), was the time to appease the ancient nameless gods so that they would smile upon our human labors and bring about fertility, for our ancestors knew that if the crops did not flourish and the flocks did not reproduce, it would surely mean death and starvation to the village.

Like so many pre-Christian ideas, beliefs in "nature spirits" or fertility gods have been suppressed. And while on a spring morning maidens might still dance around the May Pole, (historically signifying a giant phallic symbol), today few would say it's crucual to our survival. So...in speaking to these primal concepts, what relevance would this have to 21st Century Americans?

Our ancestors lived in a natural world upon which they were totally dependent. They believed that showing respect for nature and worshipping the "Mother Goddess" was the right thing to do. Today so many of us "oh so clever" industrialized moderns tend to think that Nature is ours to subjugate and exploit for our own immediate gain, while ignoring the disastrous effects. The truth is that we humans are entirely dependent on the natural world whether we want to admit it or not. The Planet is not answerable to us. It is we who are answerable to the Planet.

In many countries May 1st is also recognized as International Workers Day. Over the past two hundred years, Western Civilization has been transformed by the Industrial Revolution, a major shift from an agrarian society to a mechanized society. While these changes have brought about great progress and technology, we often fail to see the down side of the equation.

In the late 19th Century, America was very much involved with these changes. Specifically in Chicago, the stockyards and factories were in full swing by 1886. On May 1st, hundreds of workers and family members gathered to voice their grievences. Resentment was building against the "robber barons" who were growing amazingly rich off of the efforts of the laborers who worked in dismall and often dangerous conditions. There were no forty hour work weeks, no minimum wage and child labor was considered by the industrialists to be "good for business".

Many workers decided that these practices needed to change. What had begun as a legitimate protest disintegrated into a full scale riot. The municipal authorities were helpless so the "powers that be" used their clout to call in the Federal Troops. American workers were gunned down in cold blood on the orders coming from the top down. After all, workers rights and considerations affect profit margins. Twenty years later this Nation finally enacted laws to guarantee workers rights and to outlaw child labor. So...what relevance would this have to 21st Century Americans?

Thinking citizens can begin to wrestle with these ideas by once again reminding themselves that in a material world what generates capital is the buying and selling of "goods and services". And what generates these "goods and services" is labor. We cannot have one without the other. Who in America could think otherwise? While certain European countries are honoring those who lost their lives in Chicago and similar events, most Americans have no idea these events even took place.

Perhaps this exhibition will serve in some way to remind us of certain cosmic truths. If we continue to misuse our natural resources and fellow human beings for greed, it is inevitable that all of us are doomed. Given the perilous economic comditions we're facing globally, perhaps it may be good for thinking citizens to remind themselves that a good society is composed of free individuals who stand as equals on common ground.

See you on May Day!