Art and Activism

One of the most important ways we can change the world for the better is through activism, which is sometimes hard to define. To me, activism is simply the action of standing up for what you know is right, and teaching those around you through example and kindness, about those values. Together, these values can and will create an impact on the world for the better. Through activism, we can leave the planet better than when we found it. A lot of people interpret activism with a negative connotation because it is implied to hold stubborn people who want change or reform without thinking of the consequences that change/reform would have. However, I think activism has a better side to it. Not all activism is protesting and yelling at government officials for some kind of reform. Even I'm against that. To me, activism is so much more. It is taking the "Captain America" approach: standing up for what you believe in at all times and in all things and in all places. Believing in values, and upholding those values even when everyone else rejects them. And then, activism can be done through poetry and art, and other creative gestures. That's what this post is about: art and activism, and how art is an expression of values, of truth, and of passion, and with such a beautiful expression, making a literal imprint on society and being phenomenal activists.

Particularly, our class has had the opportunity to search around the city to find some pretty fantastic murals and other forms of street art. I would like to talk about this piece.

This isn't simply one mural with another mural in the back. This is a whole group of murals, and some of them aren't even in the picture. This particular piece, with the moose, is painted on the side of a firearms shop. Site-specific artwork has a point unique to other gallery forms of artwork, because the location in and of itself has a critical meaning in the work. In this case, although it may be a beautiful work, its position on a firearms shop wall gives it a special and unique meaning, that it perhaps wouldn't have if it was on a canvas in a gallery. 

One of the profound impacts of art as a form of activism is that art, like poetry, holds questions, thoughts, and impressions that the mind begins to review, causing the viewer/reader/audience to use critical thinking skills to deconstruct a message of their own, without other people forcing ideas on someone like a protest or government reform. Poetry, artwork, and even movies are beautiful, intriguing, and contemplative, which causes an inevitable conversation on some important issues and discussions. I've already discussed how Cinderella and Frozen, and even Comic Con have had an influence on me and my activism, how I have become a better person through engaging in a conversation on the values, messages, and emotions that come through these things. Artwork does the same. It produces thoughtful conversations to display something about the world and how to change it. 

With that in mind, let's discuss this work's conversation. Here we have a moose being serene and calm, mentioning perhaps the tranquility of nature and the beauty of the world, but as the scene gets darker and darker and increasingly more chaotic, there is either damage, imagery, or confusion. What is in store for the future of this moose? We are unsure. Will he get killed? Will his home be destroyed? We assume something must happen because of the transformation in the piece. Then of course there is the location, because in site-specific art, the location is just as important as the work itself. On the wall of an armory, the message begins to take form. One interpretation could suggest rebellion; the very guns sold will also become the very tools to bring chaos to the forest. Is this an anti-hunting message?

Also important with location is the relationship between murals. Behind this moose is a gorgeous rendering of the Virgin Mary who stands out in her own respect as a diverse woman. Her religious beauty and detail, whether intended or not, stands high above the moose, looking on. Again, whether or not these murals were meant to be placed together, the conversation between the works automatically adds to the conversation between the works and the viewer. Here we have someone holy and sacred looking upon a beautiful form of nature and witnessing its downfall and destruction at the hands of firearms. If the mural is indeed intended to be an anti-hunting message, then the location of the Virgin mural makes that message all the more powerful.

But then there is certainly more to the story. While it is easy to point out the anti-hunting message, other arguments including the pollution of natural habitats, and the encompassing story of shifting nature, whether for better or for worse, as well as stories including the Virgin Mary, such as a strong and vibrant beating heart, and a connection to culture and people. All of these have important placement within the work's atmosphere. For example, the Virgin’s beating heart can be seen as a symbol of hope. For the group of people in the area that believe strongly in the Virgin Mary, this work gives hope through a connection, and seeing the reality of a living, breathing, heart-pumping human being, and it draws a connection not only between the believers but also any that look upon her. Because the heart is such an important detail in the work, it produces a sense, in one way, how the Virgin’s sacredness comes from her heart, and therefore brings hope to viewers, because they, too, can have a “sacred” impact, maybe even upon nature?

Both these messages, of nurturing and protecting forms of nature, and acting with the Virgin Mary as an idol, create a new-found impression of the world, and actions that reflect that new impression. That's what makes them important. Like a poem, simply attempting to understand what these works may be saying or may be revealing makes a change of thought and a change of mind. Art, including graffiti/street art can have a powerful activist impact, through imparting site-specific messages and relationships to present ideas that are sometimes difficult to accept or understand.