Page 19 - the NOISE June 2013

Both Sides by Sharon Porter is among the collection of artist viewpoints at the “Guns/Children” Exhibition at Sedona Public Library.
criminal’s Second Amendment right?” Sharron Vincent Porter tells me about her piece, “My entry was a diptych in acrylic on board entitled, Both Sides. It is about the dual tragedy of children being not only the innocent victims of violent crimes involving guns, but the more subtle victimization of being brought up in a gun culture, where they learn patterns of thought and behavior that glamorize/propagandize the use of guns and violence as entertainment and a primary method of solving problems. The first image
is of a diapered toddler aggressively bran- dishing a child-size assault rifle in front of a big screen TV with a “dead” Raggedy Andy doll and two stuffed bunnies lying in a pool of blood at his feet; the second image is a dia- pered toddler walking away from us toward green mountains carrying a stuffed bunny in his hand with a huge black storm over his head and a target on his back.”
“When I read the call to artists for this ex- hibit, the image of a child holding the flag at half-mast appeared in my mind very clearly and stayed with me,” Cathy Gazda says about her piece, We’re Number One. “Pairing the child with statistics was inspired by New York singer-songwriter Christine Lavin’s thought- ful song, ‘Cary Grant, Esther Williams, Ange- lina Jolie and The Romance Of The Gun.’
Her accompanying video had many sta- tistics. I did my own research from various sources and was shocked to find that, in some years, the US had even higher figures. I chose to stick with average numbers. Even though the numbers vary from year to year, the one thing that stays the same is that the United States ranks at the top of the list for firearm homicides amongst the developed countries in the world. The statistics used in the painting came from the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); however, there are many reputable groups who’ve gathered stats with similar re- sults. The bottom line is we are number one in gun violence by a huge margin. Is this the legacy we want to leave for our children?”
“We as a society need to look at the un- derlying reasons for the lost souls among us,” artist Patty Miller says. “We also need to recognize they are a part of us. I was inspired in part by my own history. I have had some nightmarish experiences in my past. By the grace of God I am walking toward the light. I want to feel compassion and mercy towards these other victims of violence.”
“I have created a diorama using plaster gauze hands, and the head and upper-body of a child,” Ms. Miller tells me of her piece, The Other Victim. “I collaged knowing images to the walls and created a memorial of roses and a broken heart for this victim.”
Mary Helsaple tells me how she became inspired for the show. “I began to read sta- tistics on how guns are marketed to the public, and the variations in laws and regula- tions across the country concerning guns. I had grown up in a household with guns. I thought only crazy criminal’s used guns un- scrupulously. I was at the local Sedona gro- cery store doing my weekly shopping and as I walked down the aisle with magazines, I was stopped in my tracks by glossy, sexy, enticing display of gun magazines. This was no longer about ‘sportsmen and hunting.’
“I purchased an ‘Industry Buyers Guide’ called RECOIL. What was ironic is that it pre- sented guns like slick, sexy machinery. As I drove home I thought of how appealing this must be to young men. As I stopped at the mailbox I retrieved an unsolicited cata- log called Cheaper Than Dirt that sold ammo,
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thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • JUNE 2013 • 19