Countdown to peace art exhibit carries political undertones

Exhibit on display until the war in Iraq ends

By: Sarah Campbell

Posted: 11/27/07

Newspapers are filled with headlines, network airwaves are overflowing amid countless minutes of airtime updating Americans on the war in Iraq and politicians are using the war as a basis for campaign strategies.

The war in Iraq has become a part of daily life in America. Each day Americans are bombarded with media surrounding the war, leaving two ECU professors pondering the prospect of peace.

Mendenhall Art Gallery is currently displaying the Countdown to Peace art exhibit. Art professors Catherine Billingsley and Jodi Hollnagel-Jubran put the exhibit together in an effort to exemplify the concept of peace.

"The goal is to help people identify with peace. Express our need for peace. Let people know we would like the war in Iraq to end, that we are not going to forget about what is taking place and that there are better solutions like peace and talking and identifying the problems and agreeing to disagree than war to solve our problems," said Hollnagel-Jubran.

The exhibit is currently made up of 71 pieces, each representing a day of a calendar timeline of the war.

"Each entry we have received represents that artist's individual vision of peace. Maybe with all of us visualizing peace, we can make it happen. Everyone's idea of peace is expressed differently," said Billingsley.

Although the exhibit is currently housed in Mendenhall, it will become a traveling exhibit after being taken down at the end of November. It will continue to be displayed in a number of locations until the end of the war.

Students and community members were invited to be part of the exhibit by submitting work. All forms of media were accepted, and pieces in the exhibit range from drawings to photographs and ceramics to weavings.

"I wanted to be a part of this unique collaborative effort to raise awareness that artists participate directly in their communities. Today, so much of art is created for individualistic purposes, but we can still be united in a shared global vision," said graduate student Charity Hall.

Those interested in contributing work or suggesting a venue to host the exhibit can contact Billingsley or Hollnagel-Jubran at caterine.billingsley@yahoo.com or jodijubran@yahoo.com.

This writer can contacted at pulse@theeastcarolinian.com.