Crown’s solo exhibition, #iamFOR, inaugurated the New York City headquarters of a massive public art campaign called the “50 State Initiative,” which was created by For Freedoms, a non-partisan political engagement group, to raise the level of political discourse and increase civic participation in the days leading up to the 2018 midterm elections. The venue was appropriate: a 19th-century house named after Fort Gansevoort, a nearby former U.S. Army fort. Themes of racism, blackballing, and political factionalism were explored in Crown’s large-scale sculpture and installations that elicited viewer participation. Each work challenged viewers to contemplate their own belief systems and ideals, and to raise their voices to effect change. 

Historically, a black ball has been a figurative symbol of rejection and exclusion–from a club, an industry, a nation. Crown turned that negative connotation upside down, and asked viewers to consider what they’re for, not what they’re against, and to reflect on their responsibility for and implication in systems of oppression. 

The central work had visitors write something  they support–world peace, kindness, freedom, etc.–on a black ball. Then they dropped it  through a skylight on the roof into a glass-enclosed atrium inside the gallery. The performative gesture was a call to action. 

Black balls were also elements of ENtitleist, a series that included a 33-inch black golf ball made of painted polyurethane foam, suspended from the ceiling. Its dimpled surface was scarred–a representation of the injury and pain caused by being excluded. “In a binary system of 1s and 0s… we are all 1s,” said Crown.