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In a dark corner of Art Bar is a drawing by Samuel Nathan Gardner called “Peace in the Outfield.” It’s done
in crayon and shows a bright green baseball diamond with figures placed around the bases. It’s a
children’s drawing, and it’s quite adorable and sweet, conjuring up images of kids happy at play on
sunshiny afternoons. But if only peace were that easy.
Gardner’s drawing is in an exhibition called “Peace: Imagine It” which is part of the Epidemic Peace
Imagery Project. This initiative grew out of various inspirations and proposals to the Wisconsin Painters
and Sculptors Society and the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. Individuals were invited to submit work on
themes of peace in hope that this sentiment could be spread through art and creative works. At this point,
the project has involved artists not only in Wisconsin, but in twenty states and fifteen countries, with a
portion of the works on view in Davis, California.
One of the requirements stipulated that pieces must fit within a 12 x 16 inch area of wall space. Working
within this limitation, many artists have created highly three dimensional creations. It is as though the flat
dimensions and relatively small size were not enough to hold the force of their sincerity. There is a
preponderance of text in the exhibition; most of the works make use of both literary and visual elements,
though some to better effect than others. The incorporation of so many literal words emphasized a desire
for clarity; if the message doesn’t fully come across through an amalgamation of images, it will be
additionally spelled out for you.
The idea of peace is a complicated subject and can be approached in infinite situations, from familial
relationships to international relations, to name two broad categories. The works in this exhibition seem to
collectively address peace as an absence of conflict, rather along the lines of “can’t we all just get along.”
Thematic vehicles for this position take the form of peace symbols, images of children, of motherhood, of
nature. But given the intentions of the Epidemic Peace Imagery Project and the situation of the world in
which we live, isn’t something a little more critical, a little more sophisticated in order?
in crayon and shows a bright green baseball diamond with figures placed around the bases. It’s a
children’s drawing, and it’s quite adorable and sweet, conjuring up images of kids happy at play on
sunshiny afternoons. But if only peace were that easy.
Gardner’s drawing is in an exhibition called “Peace: Imagine It” which is part of the Epidemic Peace
Imagery Project. This initiative grew out of various inspirations and proposals to the Wisconsin Painters
and Sculptors Society and the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. Individuals were invited to submit work on
themes of peace in hope that this sentiment could be spread through art and creative works. At this point,
the project has involved artists not only in Wisconsin, but in twenty states and fifteen countries, with a
portion of the works on view in Davis, California.
One of the requirements stipulated that pieces must fit within a 12 x 16 inch area of wall space. Working
within this limitation, many artists have created highly three dimensional creations. It is as though the flat
dimensions and relatively small size were not enough to hold the force of their sincerity. There is a
preponderance of text in the exhibition; most of the works make use of both literary and visual elements,
though some to better effect than others. The incorporation of so many literal words emphasized a desire
for clarity; if the message doesn’t fully come across through an amalgamation of images, it will be
additionally spelled out for you.
The idea of peace is a complicated subject and can be approached in infinite situations, from familial
relationships to international relations, to name two broad categories. The works in this exhibition seem to
collectively address peace as an absence of conflict, rather along the lines of “can’t we all just get along.”
Thematic vehicles for this position take the form of peace symbols, images of children, of motherhood, of
nature. But given the intentions of the Epidemic Peace Imagery Project and the situation of the world in
which we live, isn’t something a little more critical, a little more sophisticated in order?
Peace: Imagine It
Art Bar
722 E. Burleigh St., 414-372-7880
Art Bar
722 E. Burleigh St., 414-372-7880
| Installation view. |
Peace is shown to be as simple as Tom Barry’s “Christmas
Trees for Peace,” a photograph of a frozen Lake Mendota with
an array of Christmas trees arranged in a peace sign. It is
heartwarming indeed, but does little more than serve as a
visual platitude. Depending on your mood, you can be pacified
with such lovely and quiet visions, or disheartened that peace
may be an imaginary ideal, as fragile and fleeting as the
seasonal ice underneath those trees.
One of the more successful works in the show is Renee
Shedivy’s “I Am A Soldier.” It is a mixed media piece, made
from various bits of cloth and World War I photographs printed
on soft material. A quote from soldier Sigfried Sasson in 1917
offers a complex view of violence and politics, one of the only
commentaries in the exhibition that considers the stumbling
block to peace: the capacity for violence inherent in human
nature and its employ at the behest of governments. Sasson
states his disaffection is for “…the political errors and
insincerities for which the fighting men are being sacrificed.”
The goal of the Epidemic Peace Imagery Project is to spread
peaceful representations in hopes of inspiring non-violence in
the world. But unfortunately, this does little to directly confront
the harsh reality of the world we live in, and address the
problems and possibilities that face peace in our times. Art is
a powerful force, but its potential needs to be developed and
allowed to speak in far more profound ways than
heartwarming, yet apathetically dreamy signs and slogans.
- K. M. Murrell
Katherine Murrell is co-publisher of Susceptible to Images.
Comments? Email kmmurrell@susceptibletoimages.com
Trees for Peace,” a photograph of a frozen Lake Mendota with
an array of Christmas trees arranged in a peace sign. It is
heartwarming indeed, but does little more than serve as a
visual platitude. Depending on your mood, you can be pacified
with such lovely and quiet visions, or disheartened that peace
may be an imaginary ideal, as fragile and fleeting as the
seasonal ice underneath those trees.
One of the more successful works in the show is Renee
Shedivy’s “I Am A Soldier.” It is a mixed media piece, made
from various bits of cloth and World War I photographs printed
on soft material. A quote from soldier Sigfried Sasson in 1917
offers a complex view of violence and politics, one of the only
commentaries in the exhibition that considers the stumbling
block to peace: the capacity for violence inherent in human
nature and its employ at the behest of governments. Sasson
states his disaffection is for “…the political errors and
insincerities for which the fighting men are being sacrificed.”
The goal of the Epidemic Peace Imagery Project is to spread
peaceful representations in hopes of inspiring non-violence in
the world. But unfortunately, this does little to directly confront
the harsh reality of the world we live in, and address the
problems and possibilities that face peace in our times. Art is
a powerful force, but its potential needs to be developed and
allowed to speak in far more profound ways than
heartwarming, yet apathetically dreamy signs and slogans.
- K. M. Murrell
Katherine Murrell is co-publisher of Susceptible to Images.
Comments? Email kmmurrell@susceptibletoimages.com
| Tom Barry, Christmas Trees for Peace |
| Renee Shedivy, I am a Soldier |