2015 Visualizing Peace

Curator Essay

Visualizing Peace

Peace in our time is elusive. Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East are “hotspots” of war. What do we do? What do those of us, who are not directly involved in the conflict of war, do to mitigate the horrors of war? After all we are all responsible for working toward “Peace” in the human chain of existence, if for no other reason than that we are all human beings who value life.

In spite of the odds against peace, we must never lose hope. We must do what we can at all levels from micro-acts to macro-acts. Whether we can do more or less is not the issue, but we must do something. Every human being is capable of doing something to advance peace.

As the curator of this exhibition, I chose the theme of “PEACE” because the Artnauts (an American Art Collective) need to make a visual statement about “PEACE” in the history of our times.

It was with this intention that this exhibition evolved. It involved getting artists from the United States of America, and a few other artists from throughout the world, to address the issue of Peace.

Each of the artists addressed the subject from their own perspective, whether this is psychological or social — personal, regional, national, or international. The task for each artist was: What does peace conjure up about how you view yourself and the world? What gives you peace?

Visualizing “PEACE” may not be a quantum step, but it is an action that reminds us of what the world could be without war. We must imagine what “peace” is and work to make it a reality for our global neighbors and ourselves. We must not lose faith in our capacity to realize “the good.” That is our mission as human beings.