Statement:
While we’re trying to let go, we’re also trying to hang on.
Everything is personal and the personal is political.
“Symbols of America” is an evolving suite of printed ephemera: physical evidence of thoughts and conversations we are (and aren’t) having in America. The work explores the relationship between our symbols—flags, icons, logos, phrases— and our ideologies, and how they shape and reflect each other. Much of our contemporary dialogue and media consumption takes place in digital spaces but these experiences often produce tangible emotional responses: the highs, the lows, and the really low lows. This work bears witness to the unrest and anxiety of modern life in America.
In For Freedoms, these artifacts are meant to serve as prompts for discussion, contemplation, and tools for communication. We are proposing that the following work exists in the gallery as a constellation of large-scale vinyl wall decals— graphic gestures from the emotional, intellectual, and existential zeitgeist: a call waiting for a response.
Full show proposal text here.
Text below from DAAP website:
For Freedoms: Art as Political Resistance
September 4th-September 30th
Reception date: Thursday 5–7
Closing Reception — Thursday, September 6th 5–7pm
DAAP Galleries at the University of Cincinnati are proud to host the exhibition For Freedoms: Art as Political Resistance in conjunction with the 50-state initiative taking place this fall. Representing a diverse group of voices that speak to shared conflicts and aspirations, these artists seek to provoke thought that can promote understanding and influence the evolving political landscape. The intent of the exhibition is to unify university students, faculty, and recent graduates in the exploration and expression of the power of art to encourage social movement, participation, and facilitate change for the common good.
For Freedoms 50 State Initiative: For Freedoms is a platform for greater participation in the arts and in civil society. They produce exhibitions, installations, public programs, and billboard campaigns to advocate for inclusive civic participation. Inspired by American artist Norman Rockwell’s paintings of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms (1941)—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear— For Freedoms Federation uses art to encourage and deepen public explorations of freedom in the 21st century.
Participating Artists: Calista Lyon, Breanne Trammell, Mary Banas, Kari Durham, Ravenna Rutledge, Richard Whitaker, Stephan Slaughter, Charles Woodman, and Kaveh Baghdadchi
Reception
Thursday, September 6, 5–7pm
Gallery Hours
Sunday–Thursday, 10am–5pm
Location
DAAP Aronoff Complex, UC Main Campus
