Awareness
I see a whirl of swirling white, an impenetrable fortress made of ice, I am unsure of what lies beneath. Upon further inspection, I notice a splash of gray across the immaculate white surface and words written within the ashen splotch. I do not have time to read the impeccable looping cursive, I am too busy taking in the brunt of the scene. Perplexed, I step back from the canvas eager to understand.
After a brief interlude, I go straight to the script, ready to decipher its many twists and turns. I make out the sentences, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Immediately the words click, this is the first amendment of the constitution; the most integral individual portion of our freedoms and liberties. Many thoughts crossed my mind: the political instability in our country, the right to peacefully assemble, the right to speak my freedom, to speak my truth, and to petition against those who harm me and my peers.
This piece resembles the confusion that occurs when we do not know our rights. The vastness of white is when we legally cannot speak when we have to stay silent. The gray only emerges once we mix our rights into it. When can we shout? When can we scream against the injustice? When can we fight the system, when can we win? The true beauty of this masterpiece is not that it answers our questions or solves our problems, rather it makes us aware, sort of like our first amendment rights.
