Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAn Artist Honors Tamir Rice, One Orange Object at a Time
Some of the orange objects donated by residents of Cleveland or collected by Michael Rakowitz at the opening of A Color Removed, a tribute to Tamir Rice, at the Spaces gallery on July 14.
Credit
Andrew Spear for The New York Times
The installation, by Michael Rakowitz, an Iraqi-American artist and professor based in Chicago, is titled A Color Removed, and it asks, Can you remove a color and a symbol of safety from an entire city? Rakowitz is trying to do just that, as a tribute to Tamir, the 12-year-old boy who was playing with a pellet gun when he was fatally shot in 2014 by a Cleveland police officer, Timothy Loehmann. The police chief, Calvin Williams, said that the pellet gun had been indistinguishable from a real firearm because it was lacking its orange safety cap.A grand jury did not indict Mr. Loehmann, who was fired last year for lying on his employment application.
When that minor object got isolated, it was outrageous and infuriated me, but at the same time I thought, Thats something to talk about, because were talking about color, said Mr. Rakowitz, whose art practice often involves trying to execute impossible-seeming actions, including reconstructing from disposable materials all the artifacts looted from the National Museum of Iraq.
If we need an indirect way of talking about black and white, maybe we can talk about red and yellow, he said of his Cleveland project. In other words, maybe metaphor can be a useful way of getting at the reality of race. As Mr. Rakowitz said, We are living in spaces where color is removed every day with the shootings of young black men.
snip
The artist was also struck by a coincidence: in Arabic, the word tamir means date, a food found in abundance in his familys home country and a frequent subject of his work. Thats where you realize youre living in a world where it really is all connected, he says. He saw Tamir Rices death as both a local tragedy and something more universal: the brutality of difference being marked on somebodys body.
Orange objects donated to Mr. Rakowitz for his art gallery show, his effort to remove the color from the city of Cleveland as a statement on the right to safety.
Credit
Andrew Spear for The New York Times
Read More:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/29/arts/design/tamir-rice-cleveland-triennial-orange-rakowitz.html?action=click&module=Editors%20Picks&pgtype=Homepage
...
We are living in spaces where color is removed every day with the shootings of young black men.
the brutality of difference being marked on somebodys body.
Some objects are especially poignant, including a plastic figure of a child holding a sign that reads, Caution: Children at Play, and the life jacket of a Syrian refugee who never reached Europe.
A beautiful, yet haunting tribute to Tamir Rice. A cautionary note, Children at Play.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 1253 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (7)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
An Artist Honors Tamir Rice, One Orange Object at a Time (Original Post)
sheshe2
Aug 2018
OP
brer cat
(24,591 posts)1. I hope that something will be permanent
as a memorial and tribute to Tamir. If he couldn't live his life, at least let it be remembered and honored.
sheshe2
(83,850 posts)2. I agree, brer.
Remembered and honored.
The artist Michael Rakowitz, he did that with heart. Remarkable.