Response to a comment, Lucius Seo
“Michael Brown is seen as a martyr to the demonstrators across the country…”
-Mark Campmier
“Seen” is a strong word here. At certain point, we start to encounter things that are “seen” rather than things that “are.” It takes a lot of effort and responsibility to claim that certain things are what they are; as imperfect humans, however, we tend to err in our judgments and make assumptions without knowing the full story. In fact, without making any assumptions in life, we probably will have hard time living. When things “seem” peaceful, we assume that it is safe. When violent movements “seem” to happen, we respond, assuming it to be true.
The “artworks” of the exhibit conglomerated many different issues, and most of these issues are opaque. In other words, a simple black-or-white dichotomy cannot fully summarize the gravity of each issue. Therefore, the intention of the exhibit is not as clear as one might imagine because not every work will be about racism and not every work will be about police brutality. Hence, as Mark so wonderfully phrased it, we can only respond to what is “seen.”
