Art as a practice of liberation-

The idea of “Art as a practice of Liberation” reminds me of the previous few months when I helped the People For Peace Art Collective, a non profit artistic cooperative based largely out of South Eastern Wisconsin. I met a few of the artists at an event where they were doing live painting and displaying work with the accompaniment of a few talented Dj’s. At their events they display a tarot deck that they created, each artist painting one card of the deck, and they often hold a booth to paint, collage, or draw with them.

In just a few minutes gazing at the piles of artwork they had created, i heard many conversations about the tarot, and the meaning that it carries for people. Stories of growth, perseverance, as well as the feeling of importance and confidence that the tarot has sparked in people. These people were becoming liberated from the antagonisms of daily life through the artwork of their community members. Dis-empowered ravers finding strength and hope in the brushstrokes of their neighbors.  This was an incredible thing to be seeing, and at the raves of Milwaukee, a city pushed to the edge by racism and economic imbalance, i was surprised to say the least.
This liberation from feelings of oppression is crucial in enacting societal change, because currently people are feeling dis-empowered and overwhelmed. This perception of a lack of power is fatal, because it robs us of our motivation to make a change. Returning to my example of Milwaukee, the scene that i see all too often, is that of working people in an abused town, working too hard with nothing to show for it, drinking away the pain that their very ignorance perpetuates.

Bringing meaningful artwork to a community like Milwaukee is a lot like graffiti artists spray-painting powerful images in allies. Sharing a message with the community in such a public and accessible way in order to empower the abused. By working from the “bottom” to inspire people to create, you uncover many perspectives and stories from those who are most often abused and forgotten. Artistic creations help to free one’s self from the pains of life, liberating the artist from barriers of day to day life.

Practicing Embodiment

Art can exist as a practice of embodiment. By putting intention and effort into a work, your perspectives and feelings manifest themselves into the piece in a way that can transcend language. One aspect of the concept of embodiment through art that resonates strongly with me is the possibility of empowering people to share their story.

Luisa Cremonese, the UNHCR senior coordinator for gender equality and women, worked with women and girls illustrating their struggles and envisioning solutions and “is convinced that creating images enabled these women to articulate their experiences in ways that words would have missed.” Luisa draws a connection between her community art projects and native people of North America; “The native people of North America often use the Medicine Wheel to explain that we cannot be healthy unless we address each of the four quadrants in our lives: the physical, the intellectual, the emotional, and the spiritual. We argue that aesthetic approaches, which can bring all four of these elements into play, are essential if we are to be healed as individuals and communities.” (Cremonese, 149) By working on projects with people who are abused and often forgotten, the piece manifests these elements of pain and healing. Channeling this pain into something artistic through community process transforms what could be a painful memory into a celebration of our power to overcome tragedy with the help of community. This change can help to restore hope to a society in the face of disaster. With the current state of affairs in our society today, it becomes increasingly important to empower people to express their perspectives.

In her piece, The Artist Is Present, Marina Abromoivic acts as an emotional mirror for the observers. her ability to present herself in such a way that evokes true emotions is an example of embodiment because she seems to draw out parts of the participant, and experience those emotions with them. This piece proved to act as a sort of emotional catalyst for the participants, starting to uncover potentially buried or ignored emotions. I believe Marina’s vulnerability helps bring out parts of the participants that are also often seen as taboo.