Art: Manifest Destiny!

It's not an optical illusion. It's a thought-provoking art piece entitled Manifest Destiny! by Jenny Chapman and Mark Reigelman II located at Bush and Grant in San Francisco. Their work, which will be installed until October, consists of a portion of a tiny wood cabin affixed to the Hotel des Arts. The small cabin is reminiscent of a different era when homes were simple and accessible, and people were optimistic about the many opportunities in the "New World", the West, California, etc. It's juxtaposed by its location in a city where today many people cannot afford to buy or rent, and in a very congested area (between Union Square and Chinatown). The piece's title also evokes a bygone era of optimism based on seeming unlimited opportunities just beyond the horizon, but the time was was also marked by naiveté, arrogance and political agendas (Manifest Destiny was cited as justification for American expansionism and eventually war with Mexico).

Of course, I myself covet a tiny home, and my own enthusiasm and optimism might even have some similarities to the emotions felt by someone setting out on a wagon train in the early 19th century. So, this art piece made me wonder if I also shared some of the naivete and arrogance, particularly around the sustainability of my future tiny home. By themselves tiny homes are far more sustainable than their larger brethren in terms of construction materials and waste, as well as ongoing energy use, but my dream also includes some land to expand and grow food and views dominated by the natural rather than built environment. The cold hard reality is there simply isn't enough undeveloped land to provide everyone with something similar. So, would I require some type of personal manifest destiny to prioritize my needs over everyone else's needs? Fortunately, no: I know from speaking with people and describing my tiny home dreams that many simply don't share the vision and instead prefer their larger, more centrally located home or apartment. In the end, it's the diversity of needs and tastes between us that not only allows us to live together without constant competition, but also keeps us from immediately depleting the same desired natural resource(s). We all need to reduce our impact on the planet and, fortunately, we can approach that objective from a range of perspectives from the high-density urban apartment building which reduces or eliminates need for a vehicle to the hand-built tiny home in the woods adjacent to an organic garden and beehives.