SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2007
Mobile Aesthetics & Social Movements: Thinkspace
1 – 3 p.m. Polycentric sessions and screenings, San Francisco
Art Institute, Lecture hall and classrooms
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The dissolution of group identities is not a new concept. In fact it
can be seen throughout history in rites of passage. The dissolving of
groups is a large part of military basic training programs. Soldiers
are given matching haircuts and uniforms, then placed in situations
where they must work together and depend upon each other. With our exhibit,
visitors experienced an emotional transformation that mirrored that
of a military recruit — group identities were abandoned and replaced
with a new more unifying principle — compassion and common humanity
in this case.
As visitors allowed the smaller images to sink
in, conscious thought began to take over. At this point and disgust
became prevalent and a backlash against the war began or, in a few cases,
the exhibit for exposing the truth. One visitor, representative of many
others, commented: “I’m disturbed by the pictures. Stop
this war! People are being taken away from their families and dying
every day”. Another visitor made an important distinction: “The
images are disturbing, but must have a meaning. I am just wondering
what purpose they have”. While the individual images are disturbing,
the comment points to the randomness of war as reflected in the arrangement
of the individual images. While some images seem to contradict an apparent
theme, they actually provide a more accurate representation of war in
its randomness.
The exhibition reflected a dichotomy in nature.
Laws of nature are not suspended by human conflict. Natural processes
continue regardless of human activity. Wartime is no different than
any other time in natural terms. As such, we are able to find flowers
in full bloom despite being surrounded by rubble and debris. We will
see soda cans lying in the street—remnants of quenching human
thirst. Destruction merely becomes just another obstacle for nature
to overcome and adapt to—it always does and it always will. Empathy
prevails over patriotism when the latter is exposed as a conduit for
prevarications, prejudice and propaganda.