There are many forms of art found in the Guilford College woods. Most of them are products of several classes such as Sculpture in Nature. But there is no other piece of art that is as inclusive, interactive, and majestic as a single yellow rope that dangles from a tree. The funny thing about it is that the ropes origins are fairly unknown, but it is certain that it was not put up by any student, but by a Greensboro local.
When you approach the rope swing, it's as if time stops for a second and everything that you were thinking and experiencing just prior has slipped away unnoticed. Before taking the assent to retrieve the rope, it's impossible not to observe, even if its just for a split second, the thick jungle around you. This perch permits you to see many corners of the woods; you are the king of the castle. As the sun enters through the leaves above creating a phantasmagoric show on the roots below your feet, families of deer flock away, birds sing loudly, and the creek whispers to you from the bottom of the hill. It is time, your time, and now you must fly.
When you finally secure yourself within the yellow, and let your feet go beneath you, all you hear is the air flying by your ears, the weight falling in your stomach, and the perception that time no longer exists. All man-made constructions of reality have fled out the window; no paradigms exist, no superficial, chemically forced endorphin release is necessary. The feeling the rope swing gives you is 100% natural and 100% legitimate. And it's impossible not to meet the sensation with an orgasmic smile once your feet are once again secured beneath you.
I refuse to go on any roller coaster. I get nausea and anxious whenever I fly on a plane. It freaks me out to look over high edges. But you give me a rope tied on a tree branch, and I will go upside down on that sucker. And better yet, if you put water below it, I will be flippin' off that thing Barnum & Bailey style.
This video was made to try and show you a mere slice of the majestic. To really experience it, you must take hold of the rope yourself. Enjoy!
Special Thanks for the help of the making of this video goes to everyone that came out to the rope swing during production, but specifically: Pete Kostin, Mikey Yakima, Sara Hussein, Zack Pinsky, Henry Wells, and IT&S for lending me their cameras.
