Supreme Court Same Sex Marriage Hearings

Yesterday, I spent part of my day outside of the Supreme Court.  The crowd was large, and supporters for both sides were present.  The atmosphere was surprisingly upbeat and positive- no disputes or rantings (that I witnessed anyway).  People were excited to witness the comings and goings of the attorneys and plaintiffs and held their respective signs to show their support or opposition.

As I walked around, I passed out postcards and talked with people about this project.  I hope that each one of you will take a moment to share your thoughts and ideas about what makes a marriage.

If we chatted yesterday and you are interested in participating in another project, please feel free to connect with me via this site.

Postcards to Come

For those who are hesitant to return to the stone ages of communication, I'm giving you an escape route from the letter writing. I designed some postcards that already contain all the necessary info including my address. While postcards are only mildly less prehistoric than their sealed counterparts, I'm hoping they'll ignite the same fiery desire to correspond as those far away vacations you took last summer. So all you have to do is write your definition and attach a stamp.

Postcards will be available in various locations around the DC area.  Of course, if you would like me to send you a few so that you too can aid in spreading the word about my project please contact me.

How Do You Define Marriage?

The Unexpected

I didn't anticipate these definitions having such an impact on me personally.  Yesterday I received close to twenty definitions in the mail.  One of them in particular brought tears to my eyes and has resulted in a private exchange of emails.

Here is a sampling of the definitions I received yesterday.

Luxor, PA

Atlanta, GA

Scranton, PA

Definitions are Arriving!

This week I received my first definitions.  Thank you to those people who have already sent theirs to me.  If you have not done so yet please consider participating.  Although this idea stemmed from a class assignment (and I will receive a grade based upon this-yikes!- in 2 weeks), this is a project I intend to continue well beyond the class and semester.

From Lancaster, PA

From Pittsburgh, PA

From Arlington, VA

Please Participate...

I am in the beginning stages of an installation project focusing on marriage.  In light of current issues and recent legislation (in the USA) regarding marriage equality, I would like to collect and record individual views on your personal definition of marriage.  I will document the process and growth of the project here and map the responses.



Here is what I need you to do if you want to participate:
Write your personal definition of marriage on a piece of paper (any kind of paper is fine!), handwritten letters are preferred. Include your city and state at the bottom (name is optional).  Put your definition in an envelop, put a stamp on it and mail to me at:


J. Shafer
c/o Corcoran College of Art + Design
Art & the Book Program
1801 35th Street NW
Washington DC 20007


Please remember that this will be going into a hand-bound book so please keep your response to one single page.  As I receive the letters, I will begin to bind them together in a large-scale book that I hope will continue to grow and expand.  


I hope this will reach people all over the world so please share this site with anyone and everyone you know so this will grow!