Utah, in particular Southern Utah where I live, is MAGA territory. Not just traditional conservatives, but I would say a large number of those who support extreme positions on everything from gun rights to gay rights. I do not hold these beliefs and can’t put my mind around how anyone could. I try to not add fuel to the fire of negativity. Generally I steer clear of politics in my studio, with the exception of a recent piece that is on exhibition at the Bountiful Davis Art Center.
“Army of Compassion” was accepted into “Statewide Annual: An Exhibition of the most talented artists working in Utah”. It is a very rare example of social commentary in my portfolio. In a review in the Utah Arts Journal: 15 Bytes, Geoff Wichert summerized the social dichotomy I was addressing.
And despite its title, Margaret Abramshe’s “Army of Compassion” places Emma Lazarus’s “New Colossus” alongside a discussion of “xen-o-pho-bi-a.”
Army of Compassion 30 x 28, 2024
“Army of Compassion '' began as a large red, white, and blue composition with the word xenophobia in blue extending from top to bottom on the far left, followed by a soldier, and repetition of the words compassion, tolerance, acceptance which floated over red and white horizontal stripes. Initially it was titled “Flag” and submitted to a juried exhibition where it was rejected. In my second attempt in another juried exhibit, I reshot the image and changed the orientation, hanging it vertically with a new name; “Divide”.
The change in orientation alluded to a flag hung over a coffin. It was a step away from a direct reference to our nation's flag. The change worked and “Divide” was juried into a travelling exhibition. That piece toured Australia and other countries intermittently over a few years.
I never “liked” this piece in either format. For me, it had missed the mark compositionally and thematically. When it was returned, I immediately placed it on the pile of future cut ups. (My cut ups are old work that I store for a period of time and then slice with a rotary cutter and make a new composition.)
An artwork that is an example of transcendence beyond an event is Pablo Picasso’s Guernica. It depicts the bombing of the town center of Guernica on April 26 1937.
At the request of Franco’s Nationalist forces Germany and Italy dropped bombs for two hours on a market day at the center of a basque town in Northern Spain called Guernica. The bombs rained down leaving no path for escape. The military purpose was to trap Federalist soldiers and block supply lines. At the time the town was occupied by civilians. This fact was known by the responsible parties resulting in the purposeful deaths of innocent women and children. The military munitions factory (A legitimate target during war) outside of the town remained untouched.
At the time of this event, Picasso had been searching for inspiration for a commission for the World's Fair in Paris sponsored by the Spanish Republic to raise awareness of the its Civil War. He had worked on the commission beginning in January without much progress. Juan Larrea, a poet living in Paris, dropped by Picasso's studio and urged him to use the tragic bombing as subject matter. After reading an eye witness account Picasso began working.
Guernica is a massive painting. It measures 11 feet tall and 25 feet wide. Picasso wisely chose scale over color. The entire composition is in blocks of blacks, whites, and grays. The figures and their expression of terror are dramatically outsized. It makes anyone who stands in front of it feel powerless. The colors were specially mixed house paints without any trace of gloss or luster which avoided any touch of being a typical oil painting. Amazingly it took Picasso just over a month to complete.
During that time period, he did something out of character, he invited influential people to observe him working in the studio. Dora Maar, the famous photographer and friend of the artist, documented his progress. He was quoted expressing his feelings about the culture of war in Spain and beyond.
"The Spanish struggle is the fight of reaction against the people, against freedom. My whole life as an artist has been nothing more than a continuous struggle against reaction and the death of art. How could anybody think for a moment that I could be in agreement with reaction and death? In the panel on which I am working, which I shall call Guernica, and in all my recent works of art, I clearly express my abhorrence of the military caste which has sunk Spain in an ocean of pain and death."
Picasso remained in his studio in Paris during WWII. He could have easily escaped to the safer territory, but did not. He was defiant. During the war the Nazi’s constantly harrassed the artist. They considered modern art deviant. In a famous encounter at his studio with a Nazi officer, the officer looked at a print of Guernica and asked Picasso “Who did this?” Picasso replied “You did!”
Francoist dictatorship was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title Caudillo. After his death in 1975 due to a heart attack, Spain transitioned into a democracy
“Guernica” is considered by many as Picasso’s masterpiece. The artist died in 1973 just two years before Franco. He never returned to Spain and neither did this painting, until Spain returned to democracy. It was on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York from 1943 to 1981. Today it hangs in the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid.
I rarely create art as a form of “protest” or “social commentary”. What concerns me today, or this month, or this year is not inspirational. I can’t work productively from a negative place. To do this kind of work well the composition has to transcend a moment in time and embody larger ideas like Picasso’s “Guernica” did.
Everyday was made for an exhibition titled “Guns” Loaded Conversations.” It was a painful piece to work through. I was a teacher in the district where the first major school shooting happened. The process of making this entry forced me to relive some of that period of time and to mourn the lack of legislative progress on gun reform.
Everyday , 39 x 25, 2017
A couple of years ago I was interviewed by a high school student from Chicago. As a part of her senior thesis she interviewed three artists who made work for this exhibition. The last questionshe asked was “Do you think this will change?” I answered honestly .
I didn’t think the institutional change that was necessary would happen in my lifetime, possibly never in the United States. My rationale was that a culture that enshrines and worships gun ownership deep in its DNA is unlikely to shift its perspective. My response didn’t make the final cut of her video. I am sure this young woman holds the hope for change that I do not and I pray she is right.
Army of Compassion is a cut-up composition. I cut its origonal 52” inch length down by almost half. The blue was completely painted out. The word Xenophobia was cut away and the format became more square than rectangular. Most importantly, the original concept was replaced with something bigger than an argument. I wanted to suggest that one person along with other individuals could address the divide of today by embracing three simple ideas that go beyond the current political climate: Tolerance, Acceptance, and Compassion.
To make my point I used subtle text that is not apparent until close inspection. A faint definition of Xenophobia is a backdrop to the single figure on the left. Quotes from the beautiful idealistic poem which is displayed at the base of the Statue of Liberty forms a sea of words in the white stripes while the army of compassionate individuals float between the red stripes.
Art is about choices.
Everything is about choices.
We can choose to sit back and let others decide, or we as individuals can go forth and make a difference by rising above this moment.
Until Next Time….
A beautifully written piece. It gives one much to ponder. We can learn from history or dare to repeat it. I for one, don’t care to repeat it.