Art of witness

We All Belong Here, We Will Defend Each Other, poster by Micah Bazant 2017

I first saw this poster in a shared art studio my cousin was renting in Oregon in 2017. The message still feels much needed today. I value diversity in my community and find it very disturbing that my immigrants-of-color and Indigenous friends and neighbors are being needlessly traumatized by militarized agents. It's deeply concerning how the raids are being used to feed a narrative that dehumanizes people of color.

 
In researching the above image through the organization ‘Forward Together’ I came across another timely artwork in a similar vein:

Dismantle Prisons, Abolish I.C.E., poster by Art Twink, Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, and Forward Together, 2018

Unist’ot’en, No Pipelines, banner image by Isaac Murdoch & Christi Belcourt

I sincerely appreciate the land and water protection banners being made by artists Christi Belcourt and Isaac Murdoch through Onaman Collective, especially at a moment when the Clean Water Act and other environmental protections are under attack by profiteering extractive companies. I feel a kinship with frogs, and reverence for all animals, and admire how Belcourt and Murdoch honor biodiversity and the importance of healthy ecosystems in their work. I wish for the unceded Indigenous territory we’re living on to be treated with care and respect, in solidarity with Indigenous peoples fighting pipelines and deforestation on their unceded lands throughout North America and the world. 
 

Roberta’s Construction Chart 1, by Lynn Hershman Leeson, archival digital print and dye transfer, 58.4 x 43.2 cm, 1975

‘Roberta's Construction Chart 1’ by Lynn Hershman Leeson examines the male gaze and fantasy expectations of beauty that often result in unhealthy body complexes and unachievable physical ideals, as well as clownish caricatures of women. LHL’s art speaks to how unattainable models of white beauty leave so many people feeling exploited, undervalued, and unseen.

 

stop the bombing, serigraph by Corita Kent, 18"h x 23”w, 1967

Lastly, 'stop the bombing' by Corita Kent was made during the Vietnam era, but feels just as relevant today. In 2006 Venezuela was donating free heating oil to Indigenous peoples in the United States. 20 years later, Venezuela was bombed by the United States colonial government, leaving bat shriek wishing for diplomacy without war.