Response to the Gallery Visit - Lauren Findlay

“Artists are the gatekeepers of truth.” Anonda Bell spoke these words as she introduced us to the curated pieces that we were shown to our visit to the Paul Robeson gallery. She explained that art made people think, do something, not just stand out as something “pretty in people’s living rooms.” Two pieces that stood out, made me think and want to do something as a response was the initial pieces we were shown regarding sexual assault. These two pieces also connected to my project, through the nature of crime via assault and abuse of others.

Stitches of Strength

The first was a piece called Stitches of Strength. This was a very meaningful display of the words of survivors, their clothing, and the support from their loved ones. A large quilt sewn together “literally and figuratively, by stitches of strength.” Some of the messages read very heart felt advise and reaffirmation of worth, something victims may have lost through their attack. It’s all too common that women experience some form of sexual harassment, asking around a group of friends will usually bring forward stories of being groped in public by a stranger, or worse. By staring a discussion, survivors can find strength in each other, in women offering a support that they aren’t alone, as well as men, who are shown they are not less of a man because of the actions of another. Men can have an added level of suffering due to the patriarchal hold society has over them, that they must behave and act a certain way. Projects like this normalise the healing process, freeing men from the chains that toxic masculinity has placed on them. Common themes on the quilt are “you are not alone” and “don’t stay silent”, encouraging survivors to come forward into an atmosphere of understanding and support. I think this is a beautiful piece that can only heal people, each little message is beautiful. As April is the month for sexual assault awareness, teal is the colour chosen to show support for survivors. There are on campus projects such as Rutgers NO MORE and the Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance that are on hand to respond to those in need of support, which is open 24/7. To not only have this clear, stunning, exhibit of support, but also have infrastructure to help is so important; it’s so easy to pin on a teal ribbon and say you care about assault victims, but to set up a station readily available to help, that’s when survivors will feel more confident to speak out. 

NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt

We were told this piece was inspired by the AIDS memorial quilt to spread awareness, and humanise the numbers of victims in a time where the condition was seen as some kind of punishment to some. This quilt is still on display, moving around various locations, reporting a real change in statistics for people getting diagnosed, but also falling cases of sufferers. Between 1987 and 1996, 1.7 million dollars have been raised due to the effort of the quilt for research to tackle the AIDs crisis. The Interventionists actually directly discuss the effects of art on the real world issue of AIDS "Gran Fury and Act Up rewrote the rulebook regarding activist iconography in the mid-1980s by appropriating sophisticated media strategies for enlightening the public about the politics behind the AIDS crisis." The size of this collective quilt was definitely an aspect in how much attention the crisis was given from the otherwise uncaring public Without the donation money put forward, we could've been decades behind any medical advances we currently have today.

Clothing of victims turned into symbols of support

The second piece was from the same collection, but instead of a quilt of messages of support, it was outfits of what victims were assaulted in. Some pieces have been written on, offering messages in the same tone as the quilt before it, while others have been left blank. This is such an important message to convey because so often victims will hear questions like "What were you wearing?" Or their clothing will be used as an excuse, as if outerwear gives another person the right to harm someone. "This is what Bourdieu called the habitus. This is the way one navigates and thinks about the world." Cultural capital is influenced by the media and because of it, we think certain ways and perform certain acts. Narratives exist to influence the public to follow the collective actions promoted by those in a higher position, and because it's not in their interest to make women feel safer at night alone, because women aren't a broad aspect of the upper classes, they don't hold the same cultural capital as straight, white men. Women navigate life with peculiar routines such as keys between their fingers, pepperspray in hand, a friend on speed dial if their date turns out to be a creep, self-set curfews, no headphones while walking at night. It's strange that we do this because without it, we're at more risk. 

"But she was asking for it, dressed like that!"

The most heartbreaking piece here was, in my opinion, this as the obvious choice. All of the previous outfits were adult outfits, where the logic for those problematic beliefs apply, but when written about this outfit, it really establishes just how insane it is to imply someone's clothing warrants abuse. Was this child responsible for dressing "slutty" or "provocative? The answer is no, no one deserves any kind of violence brought onto them because of their clothing. Another issue with this mentality is the idea that if you have evaded a sexual assault because you dressed more conservatively, the attacker will simply look for someone else who isn't dressed the same as you. These people aren't trying to protect people from sexual assault when they tell you to "cover up," they're telling the attacker to attack someone else. While this isn't necessarily advertisement for a product, but for a state of mind. "Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and belief." Seeing power's quote here, I feel, portrays how people may actually change their views on sexual assault because of this image. Such a stark contrast to how their beliefs relate to the real world will stick with them. I already am against the belief that victims provoke attackers via clothing, but this little dress really has stayed with me and "penetrated" my mind because of how upsetting it is.

With my project, I hope to counter some of these habitus aspects, or direction attention towards women who have bravely rejected these social norms in effort to achieve a greater level of equality or even just serve their own career goals. All of the women featured in my project have influenced the cultural shift towards a more equal society with opportunity for all. While my project is online, there have been online versions of both of these projects by other artists that can be searched. I hope that with an online presence, there's more mobility to reach people with common interests via hashtags.