The Plan is to Fan this Spark into a Flame

Last Wednesday I went to the FL3TCH3R exhibit at the Reece Museum. It was incredibly thought-provoking and well-worth a visit. The person the exhibit is named after died in a motorcycle accident while he was still attending ETSU, but his goal was to make a difference through his art. Thus, the exhibit features socially and politically engaged art. It really reminded me that I can still make an impact, even though I’m young, and that the foundation I build now will make my work better in the future. It also reminded me of the incredible responsibility we have as citizens to be engaged. The conversation is happening, and if we do not participate, we lose our place in history. There is also such a responsibility for anyone who wants to call themselves an artist to be engaged in their work and to be aware of the effect it can have. Art is supposed to move people. It can be fun, sad, dark, hopeful, or anything in between, but it is supposed to evoke a reaction from people. The works chosen inspired me and reminded me what I am working towards in becoming an artist through film.

Another thing that really stood out to me was the idea that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. There were so many exhibits that were inspired by historic events but were still painfully relevant today. There were common themes of war, human cruelty, diversity, violence, religion, hypocrisy, and politics, and it’s overwhelming to think that we started the debate about these issues so long ago but are still discussing them today.

I can’t do justice to all of the incredible works that were on display, but I will talk about two of the ones that really interested me.

The first was titled “Recoil” by Tom Hubbard, and it was a collection of guns hung on the wall. They were painted black, white, or grey, and engraved with a quote pertaining to guns. The white ones supported the right to bear arms, the black ones argued against it, and the grey ones did not take a side. It was a completely non-biased work, which is what initially struck me. Hubbard showed that you can start a conversation about a topic without having to involve your own beliefs, and I respected that. One of the white guns referred to the second amendment, while one of the black guns quoted a Supreme Court Justice who said that the “right secured by the second amendment is not unlimited.” I enjoyed these two because interpreting the Constitution is something that really interests me. I mean, it’s the backbone of America, and it’s a divisive piece of text that holds our country together. The other part of the work that I cannot forget is that there was a white gun that simply said, “Think,” and I was initially puzzled as to why he did not put it on a grey gun. Then I realized that it was saying that guns do not act of their own accord, it is the humans behind them that choose to pull the trigger. Yet, as our history shows, humans do not always think.

The second was titled “You Have to Have a License” by Joel Gibbs. The background was a sunset, which was a stark contrast to the three prisoners framed in the middle. The bottom was a collage of licenses and paperwork that permitted people to do ordinary things. Hanging from the main picture were baby dolls that had been mutilated. It was an attention-grabbing piece, but what it was really saying was harder to figure out. The three prisoners were a mother, her boyfriend, and his cousin. The baby represented a ten year-old child named Victoria Martens who had been drugged, sexually assaulted, and killed by the three. The piece was intended to provoke thoughts on what a “Right to Life” really means and what happens to children who have been born to people who should never have been parents. You have to have a license to hunt, fish, drive, carry a gun, work, etc., but you don’t have to have a license to be a parent… And there are people in this world who do not deserve to have that title.