The Power of Art
by Lori Lawson
If you’ve been doing much walking around campus lately (which you should, because the weather is finally fantastic), you may have seen this slightly unsettling display of a schoolbus. For those of us who have done a little bit of investigating, chances are you aslo have seen the various articles floating around the internet explaining that this is a traveling piece of art by artist Victor Mitic of Toronto, Canada, showing up in the D.C. area as a commentary on recent gun violence. This piece is part of a larger art instillation called the “Newton Project: Art Targets Guns.” Although the artists insists that this project is not aimed at teling you what to think about the issue, it is clear that seeing something as shocking as a bullet-ridden school bus is going to make you reevaluate things.
As a Constitution-loving Government and International Politics major, I have to say I support Second Amendment rights. Regardless, stepping into this mobile art installation just reminded me how important it is to push mental health reform and closing loopholes on background checks. These views, however, aren’t what I wish to discuss here. I want to bring up the point that performance art and pieces of art can have a huge effect on people’s opinions and awareness.
Ever witness a flash mob? These are often organized to promote awareness. Go to the GMU Drag Show during PRIDE Week? Such performances that exaggerate gender norms are aimed at showing us how silly having such standards for each gender is. What about the famous photograph of the depression era mother? I bet that evoked an emotional response. Art is everywhere, and art is influential. Everywhere I go, I see or hear people declaring more and more how arts serve no true purpose. If this were the case, these moments would not be so influential to all of us. I urge you to never overlook the importance of any form of art again, regardless of your preferred field of study.
If you are a GMU student, or are frequently in contact with a GMU student (as I suspect most of my readers to be), this is a great chance for me to bring up a way that this can be applicable to your life. Mason’s Students as Scholars Program is an office located in the Johnson Center that helps fund student driven projects. While you may typically think of such grants as reserved for students of the natural sciences, these grants also apply to social sciences and beyond. In fact, this includes art with a purpose, whether it is theater, an exhibit, or potentially a bullet riddled school bus with a $12k price tag. Whether you want to participate in this or spend more time observing art with a purpose in your environment, I urge all of you to take notice of the efforts of those around you and how you can use your individual talents to help change minds.
April 10th, 2013 at 2:36 pm
Wow Lori, this is a really great piece! Embarrassingly enough, I have walked past that bus several times within the past couple of days, but I did not take the time to research the meaning behind it. Seeing this bus, all that I can think of is all of my precious baby cousins who ride school buses daily. Frankly, I feel worried for their safety. While gun control was not your aim in this piece, it is definitely relevant in this piece, and something we should all think about. Furthermore, art does find ways to express things that we as individuals living in today’s society tend to overlook. I appreciate you for writing this piece, well expressed and well written!
April 10th, 2013 at 6:32 pm
One aspect I like about this art installation is that it is absolutely shocking and ghastly upon first sight. It unabashedly grabs your attention and screams “Look at me! Be curious!”. It is in this way that performance art and such unique art installations gain fresh perspective on real world issues and gain audiences that otherwise might just walk on by if the art was more passive/inanimate. When you are not expecting something, I feel that is when it affects you most. I was truly able to experience this piece of art; I could touch the cold metal, smell the gunpowder and insulation, hear the hinges move, and perhaps most of all, remember my days on the school bus and be thankful that I never saw my bus blown to pieces.
April 10th, 2013 at 6:32 pm
One aspect I like about this art installation is that it is absolutely shocking and ghastly upon first sight. It unabashedly grabs your attention and screams \”Look at me! Be curious!\”. It is in this way that performance art and such unique art installations gain fresh perspective on real world issues and gain audiences that otherwise might just walk on by if the art was more passive/inanimate. When you are not expecting something, I feel that is when it affects you most. I was truly able to experience this piece of art; I could touch the cold metal, smell the gunpowder and insulation, hear the hinges move, and perhaps most of all, remember my days on the school bus and be thankful that I never saw my bus blown to pieces.