Famous artist, author, activist, Sue Coe speaks at Another Voice exhibit

Famous artist, Sue Coe, spoke in Speight Auditorium at the Jenkins Fine Arts Building on Friday, April 4.

The event was part of the Another Voice exhibition, a program curated by artist Patrick Flynn that focuses on conveying political messages through artwork.

After a brief introduction by Kate LaMere, associate professor of graphic design, Coe presented her works in a PowerPoint presentation.

Most of her drawings discussed controversial issues such as war, fundamentalism and her largest concern, ethical treatment of animals.

Coe related a story to the audience about how she lived next to a slaughterhouse when she was a young girl and how she once saw a pig escape. She explained how she wanted the pig to live and how the event has shaped her beliefs on animal rights since.

"I've always felt that I should save that pig. It's been my mission," Coe said.

Her drawings showed a variety of animals-chickens, cows, sheep, dogs-being mistreated and her explanations of her art showed how passionate she was about the issue.

Coe also revealed information about a new book she's working on which she intends to title "The Elephant We Will Never Forget."

The book will catalog mistreatment of elephants over the years within circuses and more specifically, a heavily mistreated elephant named Topsy.

Coe's overall message on the animal treatment issue was "don't participate." She advocates the vegan lifestyle and has immersed herself in research about animals of all kinds.

Among the many issues showcased through her art, Coe has also researched women in the prison system and growing HIV rates in the world. Coe believes many Americans ignore problems such as these.

"Denial is not healthy, but seeing it and witnessing it is traumatizing too," Coe said.

This discussion was only a small part of the entire exhibition. On Thursday night, a panel discussion took place in Hendrix Theater in Mendenhall with Coe and Flynn as well as another visiting artist, David McLimans.

The panel discussed the strong relationship between politics and art.

"The reason I wanted to bring [Another Voice] here was because there's a perception that students are disengaged from politics," said Lisa Beth Robinson, coordinator for the event. "One way to engage people is through art."

Robinson sees the event as an opportunity to show students that they can make a difference in the world by getting them to think, ask questions, and allow them to hear voices that aren't normally heard in the mainstream media.

Posters for the event had an illustration by artist Henrik Drescher as well as a quote that said, "There will come a time when one silence will be more peaceful [sic] than the voices you strangle today."

"I want people to know that art has the power to bring positive change," Robinson said.

"And I think that quote on the poster sums up the entire event."

One hundred and fifty works of art conveying various political visions in different media will be on display in the gallery at Mendenhall Student Center until April 25.

This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com