Everything Under The Sun: Artistic Response To Violence In Ferguson

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Artistic Response To Violence In Ferguson

The author Carol Klein at a book-signing event.

If you live in this country, you're probably aware of the issues that led to the #Black Lives Matter movement in Ferguson, Missouri. A shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a police officer, who was responding to that youth just walking in the middle of the road. Much has been said and written about these issues and it is an ongoing discussion, with some polarized views. Racial monitoring, racial profiling, arrests by law enforcement, and degree of violence perpetrated upon people of color are also issues without a definitive resolution.

As happens with most notable events, the art world can express peacefully some of the meaning of the occurrences and catalyze some of the emotions. I'm not saying that art can provide a solution, but it is another way of bringing the issues into discussion and shining a light.

Carol Swartout Klein, who grew up in Ferguson and attended the local McCluer High School was moved by her experience of the volunteers who had begun to inspire hope in this shattered community. Since she has a background in journalism, she wanted to capture the story of what was happening here. So, PAINTING FOR PEACE was born.

Back in November, members of the community of all ages, of different backgrounds, came together with a variety of art supplies. According to the book about the experience, written by Carol, and called Painting For Peace In Ferguson, "They drew pictures of Peace, of Hope and of Light, that show Love's even stronger, than the darkest of nights." They were painted on the boarded-up broken businesses that extended on block after block, 140 paintings in total.

Besides the paintings on that Thanksgiving weekend, Carol also observed hundreds of people from all backgrounds and races giving up some of their celebration to help others in need. It was that outreach, that assistance, which she wanted to preserve when she wrote the children's book. By the way, all profits from the book sales are going to help the community rebuild the properties and lives affected. The project is also seeking to identify all of the artwork that was completed and not yet inventoried.

But that's not all that this project does. It gives guidance for parents and teachers to conduct a dialogue with students about the issues raised by the Michael Brown tragedy and the protests and violence that followed. The website contains articles about how to proceed in discussions with children and how to answer the difficult questions that arise. Then also there is an article about taking the insights into the reader's own participation in the community in which he/she lives. As stated before, this is not a solution to these complex issues but it provides an entry into dialogue, at the level of youth, who are the next generation of change.