Art & Trauma

To begin, I would like to express my genuine shock and disbelief. Not only is there so much misinformation on the internet, but there are also, so many subtexts to the number of things Ukrainians have had to face since 2014. Of course, there is no way to know every single thing that is happening, especially when there are people being blackballed, forced out of their homes, and dying for these stores--but it is truly worrisome, to think of the many different types of groups that exist amongst this massacre. I am finally understanding that this is deeper than racial groups, deeper than Russia VS the UK, this is and should be a worldwide issue--an issue of humanity. It is gut-wrenching, as a student studying in the arts, to hear these stories, and to realize and understand that there are certain struggles that I won’t understand, or even come close to understanding due to the veracity of the things millions of civilians had to endure, and are still enduring.

Furthermore, It was surprising to me in just reading the article titles--I wasn’t sure what information I was about to dive into, because when I think of war--art is not the first thing that would come to mind. You hear and see about deaths in journalism and news, and the military controlling what news is put out--that’s somewhat normalized, and has been happening for decades, but--I can honestly say that I never even considered what artists might be choosing to be bold throughout their creative process, to shed light on the vulgar things that were happening. The first quote that stood out to me reads, “In that watershed year for Ukrainian society and its artistic community, a series of unprecedented events unfolded within a few months and shattered the sense of peace that had characterized civic life in the country.” I had to read that quote a few times, again to understand the depth of what I was reading, although I am constantly learning more about this war, it is still disheartening and hard to believe I am alive during a time period like this. Secondly, “Now artists originally from Donbas and Crimea are scattered throughout Ukrainian territory and beyond.” This quote was very shocking to say the least--preventing artists from expressing themselves is one thing, but to physically displace people all over the country? Who does that benefit, it is not right by any means, but aren’t there simpler ways to get a message across? An artist should never have to fear being removed from the only home they’ve known for practicing their profession, or craft. Moreover, placing them with refugees was something that shocked me even more--there were probably so many people who no longer had a sense of self after this ordeal. Lastly, one of my favorite quotes while reading--“In her projects, she discusses the experience of displacement: placing bodily replicas on a map of Crimea, as in Stardust (2015), shooting them with a gun (Homo Bulla, 2014–18), and turning the figures of her entire family into bronze-cast bells.” I chose this quote because I couldn’t stop staring at the image of it, and I decided then that I would include information about it, in this blog. The editors were very smart about the placement of that image, cause reading this--does not do the sculpture justice of visually seeing what was taking place. Seeing those bullet holes come out of her head, shoulder, and breast signified so much, but most of all horror and pain. You can nearly feel it through the picture, and I think it’s amazing that there are photographs from this time, but also extremely upsetting to know that these things actually took place.

Source:

Art Communities At Risk. Direct.mit.edu. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://direct.mit.edu/octo/article/doi/10.1162/octo_a_00452/110169/Art-Communities-at-Risk-On-Ukraine