Friday, November 01, 2013

Art Seen (Erased)

"Each person can take it the way they want to, because it is for everyone ...and at the end, if it gets painted over, know that the gray paint will not hide the fears of no one, but if anything, it will make those fears more visible" - Hyuro

Photo from Creative Loafing
"Paint on this wall made for a beautiful mural, people talking about it made for a beautiful conversation. A public space was created and all of a sudden this dead intersection became more human. The mural belonged to all of us, to the ones that liked it and to the ones that didn't, it was our dialogue, it was our challenge, but now it's gone. Now we are back to ignoring that space again, now we are back at thinking that erasing the evidence will make us think this never happened..." - Monica Campana, Founder and Executive Director of Living Walls


I never had the chance to see Hyuro's mural before it was buffed over. The neighborhood didn't understand its message or was threatened by the nudity it depicted. In its 37 "frames", a woman grew fur and shed her coat; she then morphed into a wolf and walked off. I'm not sure that I understand its message either, but I can see clearly the value of such art, if only in its assault on the blight that is most of Atlanta.  I'm not sure of what anyone could find so terribly offensive in the almost cartoon-like images of this mural, especially considering what we're all exposed to on tv and in print media, every day.

I'm not sure, either, that you have to like a particular piece of art in order for it to improve your quality of life. What say you?

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I think only someone who is afraid of their own beliefs and their own thoughts, finds it necessary to suppress or destroy someone else’s expression of their thoughts. Sad.

Jayne said...

I think the gift of human expression is one that we need to see around us all the time. Even if we don't "get it" just to know that someone was exercising their creativity should make us all strive to do the same.

Wren nests in... said...

Mmmm... What Patty and Jayne said.