It seems logical to assume that the more artists and their works are included in an exhibition, the more variety can be expected. What’s to be made, then, of 70 works by 70 artists, musicians, writers, and activists, all of which are limited to black and white and what amounts to a single theme? The answer may surprise an audience, even here at UMOCA.
Consider that the presenters of Artists Against the Bomb consider this profusion of both historical and contemporary works to be aimed at elimination of these weapons of mass destruction (a goal to which our current politicians pay lip service, even as they scheme to manufacture a new generation of such weapons capable of ending all life on Earth). Or that they label their chosen aesthetics “bold black and white.” Or that in a field, the arts, where competition is often the common denominator, the goal here is to encourage universal participation.
In fact, UMOCA’s Street Gallery strains to hold all the posters, while their profusion speaks to the likely fact that it is the majority that agrees with their makers, while the capacity for total destruction is as rare an enthusiasm as it is incoherent and rooted in the ability to shut our rational thought. No doubt it’s also another example of American exceptionalism.
Viewers to whom it matters, who look closely, will find the names of those who made these images, but by marginalizing the credits, the sponsors emphasize that this is no ego trip. Rather than glory, the goal is unity. And, of course, survival.
A fellow arts writer commented that these posters seem unexceptional as art works. It’s true that they offer little of the ambiguity and none of the ambivalence we look for in fine art. Rather, their points of view are offered with all the urgency they can muster. Art is often seen as a luxury; here the imagery, and the viewer’s response, are nothing short of indispensable.
Artists Against the Bomb, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, through Mar. 27, 2027.
Categories: Exhibition Reviews | Visual Arts
