Art > Alienable Right to Life
2019
Alienable
Right to Life
2019
Alienable
Right to Life
Many people cite the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment in defense of unfettered gun access.
What they fail to also acknowledge is shooting victims' right to life as codified in the Declaration of Independence-- “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…”
One man whom I interviewed in West Virginia cited his right to bear arms as his most cherished freedom. With this artwork, I am trying to pull back that lens and broaden the dialogue. When one person's rights erase another's rights, a more careful balance must be struck.
Some use the right to life as an argument for preservation of fetal life. What about the preservation of school children at Sandy Hook Elementary School? The viability of students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School? The life force of concertgoers in Las Vegas?
Some use the right to life as an argument for preservation of fetal life. What about the preservation of school children at Sandy Hook Elementary School? The viability of students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School? The life force of concertgoers in Las Vegas?
Our right to life is denied by every mass-shooting perpetrator and by each person who argues against gun safety by invoking the sanctity of the Second Amendment.
Each year, on July 4th, I update the flag to reflect those who have been killed in the intervening months. This artwork was first exhibited in Washington, DC. The reception, held on a sweltering August afternoon, was interrupted by the noise of cell phone notifications–a mass shooting had just occurred at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. The following Wednesday, I added two more plaques to the installation. They contained, in addition to the Gilroy Garlic Festival victims, those from El Paso and the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio. This is an artwork that will never be completed.
Each year, on July 4th, I update the flag to reflect those who have been killed in the intervening months. This artwork was first exhibited in Washington, DC. The reception, held on a sweltering August afternoon, was interrupted by the noise of cell phone notifications–a mass shooting had just occurred at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. The following Wednesday, I added two more plaques to the installation. They contained, in addition to the Gilroy Garlic Festival victims, those from El Paso and the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio. This is an artwork that will never be completed.
In the Media
Alienable Right to Life is an artwork that will never be complete. Mass shootings will continue to end innocent lives until we institute sane gun safety laws and address how people–especially young males–get activated to hate. During the Washington DC gallery premiere of Alienable Right, as we stood talking about the art, cell phones began buzzing. There had just been a mass shooting at the Walmart in El Paso, Texas. I returned to the gallery days later, to add shootings to the artwork, for, by then, we had also experienced the Dayton nightclub shootings. My thanks to NBC’s local affiliate for reporting on this sobering reality.