“Art never affects the world in a vacuum. It exists as a part of culture. Political art standing against repressive forces in society is part of the culture of change. Political art affects the real world as part of the force that keeps the human spirit alive. it keeps the flame of justice burning. It keeps memory alive. It moves with the struggles and moves the struggles forward.” Paul Boden, The Huffington Post
Women’s March, Montpelier, VT January 21, 2017
Although hardly a novel form of expression, I am more aware of the pervasive nature of political art now than at any other time in my life. Voices are surfacing from far and wide, including, and perhaps most notably, from quarters that haven’t previously felt compelled to speak out in protest. The sense of urgency is palpable. For me, the key take-away is the power art has given, and continues to give, to voicing distress / anger / concern / fear, not just in our current political climate, but throughout history.
Women’s March, Montpelier, VT January 21, 2017
That voice doesn’t have to be loud, but just as drops of water will carve through stone, change is effected through persistence. This week I want to highlight two local artists I am privileged to know, whose practices center around putting forth powerful statements about the issues that concern them.
Knotweed Not Safe ©Eve Jacobs-Carnahan Photo credit: Paul Rogers Photography
Eve Jacobs-Carnahan is a mixed media artist whose knitted sculptures seek change by raising awareness and offering perspective, particularly on environmental issues. The thousands of pink “pussy” hats of the Women’s March on January 21 prompted Eve to wonder how one advances an important message such that people will listen and consider it, rather than turning a cold shoulder. In her pursuit of understanding how individuals can be globally motivated toward action, she realized the pussy hats exhibited an unparalleled and viral example of such solidarity.
Chemical Lawn Natural Lawn ©Eve Jacobs-Carnahan Photo credit: Paul Rogers Photography
She brought this idea to the public last week in her talk “Art As Action: Knitters Speaking Out”. Offering an examination of 7 art knitters* who convey ideas about social and political issues through their work, the presentation provided examples of the way these artists powerfully express their objectives via inspirationally accessible means. I think everyone left the hall considering how they too might communicate their views at a time when, for many, remaining quiet seems an untenable option.
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© India Tresselt
As a daily practice, Temari artist India Tresselt is working to bring awareness to her concerns via her aim to make one artwork of resistance for each of the first 100 days of the Trump administration. At the end of January India began posting those pieces of protest to her Instagram profile. She told her followers:
I am disheartened and angry and scared. It is very difficult to lead a normal life and engage in my normal activities when everything in me is screaming that This. Is. Not. Normal. …I will continue to make pretty things because putting beauty out into the world has to make a difference, but I will also make things that aren’t pretty, because things are very definitely not pretty these days, and I will show all of this work here because I cannot stay silent.”
©India Tresselt
I find comfort in the fact that beyond the daily dose of news in the papers, on television and on the radio, grassroots artists are taking productive action, speaking up against issues they see as wrong. Countering loneliness and fear, their voices work toward eliminating isolation while fostering solidarity. In deference to the adage “an image is worth a thousand words”, a visual message can be so much richer than traditional media, striking directly at the heart of an issue while connecting with an audience in a much more visceral way than pages of text or unending interviews with talking heads.
I celebrate all those who raise their voices creatively — as well as the fact that we have the freedom to do so.
*The list of 7 artists discussed in Eve’s talk:
Sabrina Gschwandtner
Katharine Cobey
Adrienne Sloan
Lisa Anne Auerbach
Cat Mazza
Liz Collins
Lindsay Obermeyer
Women’s March, Montpelier, VT, January 21, 2017
One last thought: In his uplifting SNL monologue on January 21, Aziz Ansari jokingly observed, “Crazy couple of days, man. Yesterday Trump was inaugurated, today an entire gender protested against him”. I can’t let that go without referring to William Congreve’s often misappropriated quote from The Mourning Bride, closing line of Act III: “Heav’n has no rage, like love to hatred turn’d / Nor hell a fury, like a woman scorn’d”.
