“Antenna alive to the emotional world around me stay sharp and polished through constant use,” wrote Peter L., a local sinologist who received his doctoral training at Princeton University. He commented for the Princeton edition of Taking Pause, a public art installation hosted by the Arts Council of Princeton and supported by the Princeton University Humanities Council. Other sponsors include Timothy M. Andrews, Princeton Future, and the Bank of Princeton.
Peter compared his emotional antenna to a moose’s antlers, in that both connect their possessors to the surrounding world. He learned to detect the sentiments of others during almost three decades as an expatriate in China, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
These travels launched from his interest in a Confucian classic, the I Ching, which first captivated him during graduate school. Now, Peter lives in a house where he served as a cat sitter during that formative period. His sensitivity having increased, he finally feels that he belongs.
Located in Dohm Alley, near Labyrinth Books, Taking Pause displays portraits and stories collected by Robin Resch GS ’03 on the question, “What is irreplaceable to you?” Visitors can submit their own responses at takingpause.net.
The full photos and words of Peter, along with other participants, will be free to view in Dohm Alley through October 16. Each month, the Humanities Council will highlight one community member from the exhibition.
