Black lives matter.
Throughout the recent protests and civil unrest across the United States, one ubiquitous manifestation of people’s outrage and calls for justice has been their exercise of America’s First Amendment right of free speech, often said in the form of icons, symbols and other visual art—most commonly, graffiti and murals.
One very prominent example is the gigantic yellow “Black Lives Matter” mural painted onto the pavement of formerly-named-16th street in Washington, D.C. just outside the White House (now called Black Lives Matter Plaza). The New Yorker magazine published an article this week that gives a play-by-play account from one of the 8 artists involved in painting it. It’s short but informative. The author of the article credits this mural with spawning all the others, but my opinion is that simple Jungian synchronicity is at play.
You can read that story here:
Other examples include, of course, the many murals and tributes to George Floyd in the city of Minneapolis which you’ve likely seen in the background of numerous news stories, but there are even more public galleries you should see to get the bigger picture, so to speak, of what’s on people’s minds across the nation. California has several, including large public art projects that popped-up overnight in the state capitol of Sacramento, in the city of Oakland, and all over Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Times (https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-10/george-floyd-murals-in-la) reports on several artists painting murals honoring George Floyd in LA. Follow the link to see photos of art by local artists Jules Muck (known as MuckRock), Misteralek, Mario Medina and Celos and others. Jules Muck is a portrait painter who said she just couldn’t sleep and felt compelled to cover the town with portraits of Floyd to exorcise her grief. She alone painted more than a dozen.
Murals in Oakland, California, were painted on storefronts and boarded windows by dozens of local artists, most at their own expense. Diverse imagery depicts their various individual concerns related to the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as calls for worldwide peace and understanding. Some use symbols from the past to make a new point. Some use symbols from the past to reiterate old cries for justice that remain unresolved.
In a recent article from journalist Alan Chazaro at San Francisco Gate (sister-site to the San Francisco Chronicle), he says this of the artists involved: “For them, it’s not about fitting into a trend of the moment, it’s about being the voice of the people now and forever. “
Oakland has a long history as a main hub of leadership in the black power movement (e.g. the black panther party for self-defense), as well as the tragic events that ultimately ended it in the 1980s (if it did, really, ever end). If you don’t know the truth about that history, I suggest you begin by reading this information from the Smithsonian Museum:
https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/black-panther-party-challenging-police-and-promoting-social-change
I also urge caution when searching the internet on this subject, as there is disinformation out there everywhere trying to cause trouble. And not everything is as simple as black and white.
Not everyone thinks these visual expressions of grief and unity are helpful, though. Some supporters of Black Lives Matter are critical of what they call performative gestures like the giant mural in Washington. In other words, nothing but a performance.
For an erudite academic view of the subject, read this article written by a professor at UC Berkeley that appeared in The Boston Globe today:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/11/opinion/we-need-action-accompany-art/ She’s concerned that all this colorful noise is detracting from a real need for policy change and lasting political action.
Still . . . I think expressing our collective grief is an important first step in taking political and personal action. We need to know where we’ve been before we know where to go next. We need to acknowledge the truth.
Quoting an activist involved in the art project in Oakland, “[The] majority of these artists aren’t even getting paid. But it’s important to document this. When we study any ancient civilization we start by looking at their art. Why? Why not politics? Well, that’s not the voice of the people, they just want re-election,” he says.
“If you want to know what people are living, thinking and feeling, go study the artists of that place because artists will never bite their tongue. Even children can understand and feel what we are sharing.”
You heard him, go check it out!
You can read the full article about Oakland’s art project and see 86 photos by Douglas Zimmerman here:
Chazaro suggests you also visit these organizations: Trust Your Struggle, the Bay Area Mural Project, Good Mother Gallery, and black owned businesses in Oakland, including Dope Era, The Hatch, and Somar.
And I suggest you visit the Black Lives Matter on Instagram too.
