the interrupters

A few weeks ago I went to see The Interrupters, a film about treating violence in the city of Chicago through CeaseFire.

Imagine walking down a street where everyone is armed – with guns, rocks, knives – and a fight is breaking out. Imagine walking into the middle of that fight armed with nothing but your own love, your own courage, about 40 hours of conflict and anger management training, and the lessons of your own violent past. Imagine pulling the participants apart, listening to their grievances, and talking them into being a little bit better than they think they can be, and if you do your work right – if you can listen hard enough and love hard enough – maybe no one dies today. 

Read the rest of the review here. I cannot recommend the film enough - if you have a chance to see it, see it.

inside out project

JR's work is an example of how art can be activism. He describes himself in the street, pasting away, when someone walks up and asks, "What are you doing?" "Art," he says. Silence.

His works are beautiful, compelling, and specifically linked to local culture. When he leaves, the only way to find out about the project is by talking to the residents who were involved. He used the project featured above, to create a bridge between the people of Provencia and the media who had silenced them.

His newest project aims to involve everyone in the movement of using art to change the world, by offering an interested party to submit a portrait and an idea. If they are selected, he will send back a poster size version of the portrait for pasting in the proposed location.

moonlight in Brazil

Taken by A Scho at Copacabana Beach, for your comparison.

peace event for john lennon

This is going to need a little bit of background, so bear with me. It was created by Yoko Ono, a fluxist artist who, regardless of what she may have destroyed, is a very talented artist. The Fluxus movement, which began in 1963, is generally simple, diy, and anti-art. Much of it relates to the idea that the viewer completes the art through some form of participation, thus the art is not complete without some kind of interaction.


If you have had the misfortune of living near me during this last semester then you have probably heard me talk about Cut Piece excessively. Ono sat on stage in her best clothes and invited the audience to cut them off. Ironically, at the beginning audience members were hesitant and uncomfortable while approaching her but by the end, when there was very little cloth left, people came right up to her and cut off large sections of her clothing. One man even jokingly threatened her with the scissors, but Ono did not move the entire time. Cut Piece demonstrates the role of aggression and sacrifice in the relationship between audience and artist.


Ono recently reenacted Cut Piece in the name of world peace. She has always used her art to advocate for peace - she is afterall a product of the 60s. This work is something that can be done by anyone, anywhere. It is easy, free, and simple. Rather than producing an object that can be bought and sold, she produced instructions that anyone can carry out:

Peace Event for John Lennon

This is a call for all countries and their people who wish for World Peace. You, the carrier of good tidings, be proud, swift and wise. By being in peace, you are already part of the peaceful world.

A: VIP (Visit In Peace) Event

Visit:
Visit the Middle East.
Visit Asia.
Visit Africa.
Visit countries in the Southern Hemisphere.
Visit countries in the Northern Hemisphere.

Take:
Take photos of your friends who wish to make the trip but cannot.
Take music and/or an instrument from your country.
Take one thing you wear often and give it to somebody
you meet there.
What you give could be
As small as a handkerchief.
As useful as a T-shirt.
As pretty as a necklace.

Watch:
a) Watch the sunrise and compare it with the ones at home.
b) Watch the sunset and compare it with the ones at home.
c) Watch the moonlight and compare it with the ones at home.

Stay:
a) Stay until you find a friend to talk to.
b) Stay until you start to appreciate the country.
c) Stay until you start to feel love for their children.

Wish:
Make a wish and hold it in your heart.
Deliver a wish and see it unfold.
Send a wish and ask it to be shared.

Bring:
Bring back something you bought there.
Bring back memories.
Bring back a smile.

B: HIP (Home In Peace) Event
For those who cannot make the trip:

Visit:
In your mind
In your heart
In your dream

Pen pal:
Make pen pals in countries you've never been to.
Ask your friends to do the same.
Make pen pals in troubled countries.
Ask your friends to do the same.
Make pen pals with people of different religion and beliefs from you.
Ask your friends to do the same.


Map:
Pin a world map on your wall.
Start putting flags on the countries you have pen pals in.
Take a photo of your map every month to record the increase of the numbers of flags.

Imagine:
Imagine all the people holding hands.
Imagine all the people hugging each other.
Imagine all the people living life in peace.

Listen:
Listen to the heartbeat:
a) your own
b) your mate's
c) your child's
Listen to people.
Listen to animals.
Listen to the planet.
Listen to the Universe.
Listen to the Earth turning.

C: DIP (Dance In Peace) Event

When you are feeling bad
Do one thing a day
To make your heart dance.
It could be a simple thing like looking up at the sky.
If you can't manage even that
Do something for somebody
To make his/her heart dance.
It could be a simple thing like giving a call.
Do this for awhile and
Your life will change in a big way.
One day we'll all dance together.
Alright? y.o.

Reading through it makes me smile. Ono says that we can make a difference just by "being in peace" and then she uses her words to lighten your day. It makes me wish that creating peace were that simple. I would like to believe that if we all followed these instructions the world would be a little bit better off, or at least a little less ignorant. What I find so captivating is that it only exists when you do it. There is no room for commercialism or aggression.

I hope that as many of you travel to other parts of the world you will share your peace events with me. I absolutely want to know how the moonlight here compares to the rest of the world.