The exhibition at the NJCU Visual Art Gallery showcases numerous pieces that illustrate the horror of the bombs and inform viewers about the effects they left behind. The curator of the showcase Nobuho Nagasawa herself is a Japanese woman, with her selection, she highlights the trauma, identity, and memory that the bombs left on her country, as well as many other artists who pour their souls into their work. Her selection goes above documentation, they make viewers critically think about the ethics behind the decision of dropping nukes into civilian cities, knowing what innocents will die.
In her essay Toward Curatorial Activism, Dr. Maura Reilly writes, "sexism and racism have become so insidiously woven into the institutional fabric, language and logic of the mainstream art world that the inequities in representation often go undetected." Nagasawa's art pieces help to enforce Reilly's message by resisting efforts to try to silence and forget the atrocities committed by the US when bombing Japan. Instead of allowing the national trauma of Japan to fade into obscurity, Nagasawa uses curatorial activism to make viewers face the truth about the pain of those days and the complexity that allows such events to happen.
Similarly, Kimberly Drew, in her book This Is What I Know About Art, discusses the importance that both curators and artists have in preserving a racial culture and history, as well as the importance that culture and history have on a race of people. In her book, she uses a quote from Carter G. Woodson, where he states, "If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition... and it stands in danger of being exterminated" (Drew 20). This idea directly connects to Nagasawa's mission of preserving history and cultural identity because it highlights the importance that history and culture have over people, just like Nagasawa's art choices underline the importance that the nuclear bombs have left behind in Japanese history and art. Later in her book, Kimberly Drew mentions the importance that her time working at Creative Time left on her, stating, "Art matters, artists' voices are important in shaping society, and public spaces are places for creative and free expression" (Drew 32). An internship program was able to awaken a passive bystander, such a Drew at the time, and motivate her to become one of today's leading black leaders in the fight against inequalities present in the art world. Similarly, Kei Ito, the grandchild of a survivor of the atomic bombing, has made it his mission to showcase the "downwinders", victims exposed to nuclear fallout, who are often not included in the retelling of the events. His usage of honey and various oils in his Burning Away painting makes people want to know why people would use those substances to heal their wounds, preserving and bringing attention to those who are forgotten.
Through cultural activism, Nagasawa's collection of art pieces serves as political and emotional tools that fight back against the erasure of history and call for discussion. Her exhibition not only memorializes the tragedy but also calls for responsibility, empathy, and awareness.
Part 2 - Art Examples
 |
| Cowboys' Dream 1992 |
The art piece is a wall of pictures that depicts many of the actors who died after the filming of cowboy Western-style Hollywood films, such as "The Conqueror," which was filmed near the nuclear testing range at Yucca Flat, Nevada, in 1954. Years later, many of the actors and crew members were contacted, 91 of them revealed that they had developed cancer, and 46 of them had died due to diseases. This piece serves as a reminder of the dangers of nuclear weapons beyond active use against people.
 |
| Atomic Soldiers, 1992 |
The piece of art is a background of all the nuclear bombs developed, tested, or used by all the nations at the time, with many fragile soldier figures placed at the front. The number of Nuclear bombs in the background is so vast that the artist had to write so small that the viewers required binoculars to see them. This not only reveals the vast amount of research and testing that was spent on nuclear weapons but also our powerlessness against such weapons.
Part 3
 |
| A portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self, Kerry James Marshall |
No comments:
Post a Comment