By Darren Johnson
Campus News
Practically every community college has an art gallery, and you may want to pop into yours from time to time. Use it as a chance to get away from your device and meditate over the creative messages, and what they are trying to convey.
Surely, the most provocative art exhibit in our coverage area right now is “Going Public” at Westchester Community College. The Daniel Bejar installation is up through Nov. 16 and not only takes over the spacious Fine Art Gallery but also the outside of the building where “The Issue Is Privilege” is written in huge, bold, red letters, taking over about a dozen large windows. You can’t miss it.
The exhibit is timed to coincide with these current midterm elections and the political turmoil that has hijacked the saner discourse of previous presidencies. However, a significant part of Bejar’s exhibit is devoted to history, and shows us that Donald Trump wasn’t the first firebrand.
For example, Bejar has a flag where the stars are arranged to read “fake.” Obviously, “False Flag” is in reference to a word the president uses a lot. But this allegory is based on a very controversial flag Abraham Lincoln campaigned with that read “free.” It may be hard to fathom that “freedom” – for slaves – at one time was a much more controversial topic than anything debated today.
The floor of the gallery shows off a map titled “RE-districting” that Bejar created by walking a particularly gerrymandered New York senate district with a GPS tracker. You may not be aware that many politicians are protected because their district lines are drawn in very confusing ways, casting out voters of an opposing party.
Bejar recently gave a gallery talk and several members of the campus veterans’ association attended and debated some aspects of the installation, Bejar said. The conversation was healthy, and Bejar felt that’s what we as a country need more of, and what his exhibit is actually about.
“A group of veterans showed up and there was a lively discussion and some pushback, but it was good to be able to discuss the First Amendment,” he said. “Otherwise, people have been super excited about this. They say this is great, at this moment in time.”
The artist sees art in political messaging. “I see it all as material to work with. Art can convey and challenge ideas. The idea of ‘going public’ is about revealing something that was previously secret or private.”
As of press time, we’re unsure if Trump will be saddled with, or at least reined in by, the election of a Democratic congress. Nevertheless, Bejar certainly will have a lot to work with. “I’m sure the next two years will be very busy for me.”
Learn more about the artist on danielbejar.com.
Facebook Comments