Art and Democracy

In the U.S. when we hear the word Afghanistan, images from nightly new stories and newspapers come to mind. The images are usually of destruction and war. In the Trump era the term “fake news” is thrown around casually. But what does it actually mean to critique the media’s representation of the world around us?…

Could there be a world without guns?  Right now it may be difficult to imagine this type of world where people don’t feel the need to own a gun. Pedro Reyes attempted to take steps towards the creation of this utopian world. Using local TV ad space in Culiacán, Mexico he invited citizens to give…

What happens when there are no instructions, not guidelines, no regulation, and the public is invited to bring fresh fruit into a gallery? Jam is made. Fallen Fruit invites the public to collaborate and make Jam in their Public Fruit Jams art piece. Within this participatory art practice, participants are given no guidelines and no…

O’Grady manages to redefine the avant-garde into a place where all people can inhabit, despite it traditionally being a white cube in the literal and metaphorical sense. By taking a gold frame through the African American Day parade in the heart of Harlem, New York, this seemingly Duchampian gesture turned into a display against the…

By declaring oneself a United States citizen inside the borders of this work, this illustrates that the Constitution, the document that determines who becomes a citizen, illegitimate. In the safety of the museum, the viewer can play with the idea of stepping inside or out, bringing the control back to themselves. However, it is important…

The clash of the politics of nationalism and theology results in the audience’s realization that war is fueled by much more than a defense strategy. A war-torn military bag with the American flag that is uncannily akin to a prayer rug, and religious texts alongside, this work is protesting the blatant disregard for the loss…

What happens when the audience is confronted with the real-life object of exploitation rather than just an image? Through this presentation, what does one feel compelled to do? Touch? This is what Regina Jose Galindo is questioning of the audience. The female body has been stolen by artists, media and privileged genders to the point…

This documentary film disrupts the viewer’s perception of Gaza from a desolate and war-torn place into a place of myth and mystery. Although the suffering, fear, and occupation is present and accurately displayed in this film, the people are portrayed as arbiters of their own mystics despite having no control over the geopolitics that surrounds…

We turn to books in order to better understand the complexity of the world. Unfortunately, since prisons  pacify their environments by imposing conformity, inmates are prohibited from reading the types of books that touch on class structures and social institutions. Books that might spur inmates to resistance, such as ones on feminism or racial justice,…

When the government abandons its duty to maintain a certain standard of living, what can be done? This question animates activism and action in countless neighborhoods throughout the United States because large scale action neither depends on the financial nor logistical support of local government. The Heidelberg Project began in the late 1980s as a…