Title: "Truth Beneath the Knife"
Definition: “Truth Beneath the Knife” means that the truth is being hidden, controlled, or cut off by those in power. The “knife” represents censorship or government control, and “truth beneath” shows that real honesty and freedom of speech are being buried or silenced instead of being allowed to come out.It’s a way of saying that people’s voices and the truth are being suppressed by censorship.
For my Midterm Intervention Project, I decided to focus on censorship in the United States because it’s an issue that I believe affects everyone, even when they don’t realize it. Censorship isn’t only about banning books or blocking protests. It’s about controlling what people know and think. When powerful groups decide what information is allowed to be shared, it limits how freely people can express themselves. I wanted my project to make others stop and think about how often censorship happens in our daily lives, especially in schools, the news, and online spaces.
The colors I used, red, black, and white, each meant something important to me. Black stood for silence and control, showing the darker side of censorship and how it takes away people’s voices. I used black to shade around the Statue of Liberty and the knife to make it feel heavy and tense, almost like freedom was being covered up. White represented truth and clarity. I used it to make the words and symbols stand out because even when people try to hide the truth, it still shows through. The way I drew everything was not meant to look perfect. The lines were rough and bold on purpose to make it look real and emotional, like something you would see on a protest sign. I wanted it to feel raw, like the message was coming straight from people who are tired of being silenced.
I chose Nicky Nodjoumi’s painting Long Live Freedom as my inspiration because it perfectly captures how power can twist freedom into control. The image of a prisoner being silenced by a massive bayonet spoke to me because it shows what happens when voices are taken away through fear and authority. Even though Nodjoumi’s work was made during the Iranian Revolution, its message still connects to what is happening today, especially in the United States. His painting made me realize that censorship does not always look violent on the surface. Sometimes it appears through quiet restrictions, like banned books, erased data, or filtered information. That is exactly what I wanted to express in my project. The bayonet in his painting made me think about how words and truth can be “cut off” just like freedom, and that idea inspired me to include the knife labeled “Censorship” in the hands of the Statue of Liberty on my poster. Both pieces show that silence can be just as harmful as physical force. Nodjoumi used his art to challenge those in power, and I wanted to do the same in my own way by using my poster to make people reflect on how censorship continues to shape what we see, say, and believe.
Two quotes from the readings really connected with my project and the message behind my poster. In The Art of Activism, Steve Duncombe and Steve Lambert write, “Art is a way of seeing the world differently, and that difference in vision is the beginning of all change.” This quote stood out to me because my goal with this project was to make people see censorship from a new perspective, not just as a political issue but as something that affects freedom in everyday life. Another quote that inspired me came from Why Artistic Activism? by Duncombe and Silas Harrebye, where they say, “Art makes politics emotionally engaging, and activism makes art socially meaningful.” I think that line describes exactly what I wanted to do with my work. I wanted my poster to make people feel something first, and then think about why censorship matters and how it affects all of us.
On this poster, I wrote phrases like “Data Purgers,” “Speech Rights,” “Student Media Outlets Being Shut Down,” and “Social Media Algorithm Changes.” Each of these shows how censorship has changed in today’s world. “Data Purgers” represents how information can quietly disappear online when websites, news articles, or social media posts are deleted or changed to hide the truth. This kind of censorship is dangerous because it happens behind screens, and most people do not even notice it. “Speech Rights” is about how people are becoming more afraid to speak freely, either because of backlash, content moderation, or rules that limit protest and open conversation. “Student Media Outlets Being Shut Down” connects to how schools and colleges sometimes silence student journalists when their reporting uncovers something uncomfortable. When young voices are stopped from sharing the truth, it teaches people to stay quiet instead of questioning authority. “Social Media Algorithm Changes” shows how companies can control what we see by changing what appears on our feeds. By hiding certain topics and promoting others, they shape what people believe and how they think about the world. All these issues together show that censorship today is not just about banning books or blocking news—it is about controlling information in subtle ways that slowly change how society understands truth and freedom.
I also made an interactive space where people could write their own examples of censorship. The responses I received showed how differently people experience it. Someone wrote “No King Protest,” which represents how movements that challenge power are often ignored or silenced. Another person added “Controversial Book Topics Banned,” showing how schools and libraries remove books that talk about race, gender, and equality. One response said “DDOS Attack,” showing how technology can be used to block or erase online information. Another wrote “Alaska Typhoon,” pointing to how environmental issues and disasters are sometimes hidden or downplayed.
References
Duncombe, S., & Lambert, S. (2021). The art of activism. OR Books.
Nodjoumi, N. (1978). Long live freedom [Painting]. Nicky Nodjoumi Studio.
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