SECCA exhibit examines national news coverage
Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art curator Cora Fisher discusses a piece that examines the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election during a tour of the “Dispatches” exhibit on Friday, Oct. 28.
Photo by Tevin Stinson
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Earlier this week, SECCA (Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art) opened an exhibit that responds to national news coverage on a number of heavy topics, including the Syrian Refugee Crisis, the brutal killings of unarmed black people and everywhere in between.
“Dispatches,” a collection of works by 34 contemporary artists and photojournalists, is a artistic response to news reports from 2010 to the present day. The exhibit is divided into five different sections; Post-9/11 Realities; Boarders and Migrations; Ecological Justice; New Forms of Social Action; and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.
Through powerful images and thought provoking messages “Dispatches” takes a look at the lack of sensitivity to those directly impacted by national and international news reports. According to a press release, “the art works emerge from within, and in defiance of today’s media from real-time coverage to slower forms for better comprehension.” SECCA curator Cora Fisher said, not only has the Internet changed the way we receive news; it also has changed the way we consume the information we receive.
She said, “Within that shift with the Internet, the way we consume news and information has changed as well,” she said. “We’re getting a barrage of information and that can cause fatigue.”
On one wall of the art museum, photos of U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump literally are spilling onto the floor accompanied by memorable quotes from both candidates. Next to that is a black and white flag that reads, “A Man Was Lynched By Police Yesterday,” hangs beside a photo wall of people of different ages, races and ethnic groups who are members of the LGBTQ community.
Fisher said the way to overcome the anxiety that comes with critical issues that we are facing such as, racial equality, immigration, and others is through art. She said artists, photographers, and photojournalists give us different ways of responding
“Artists show us the way,” she said. “Artists put a certain sense of urgency on things that we otherwise may already emotionally shutdown on.”
Dispatches opened on Tuesday, Nov. 1 and will run until Feb. 19, 2017. The exhibit will also feature artist talks and live performances.
For more information and a list of artists, visit www.secca.org.
