Art Review: "War, Peace and Civil Liberties"

"Once a person has witnessed a war, they are forever changed," writes artist Ehren Tool in his letters to UN Security Council members and the UN ambassador of Iraq. His piece, "3x Letter Project, Jan 5, 2003," consists of the letters he wrote thanking the UN members for their efforts to avoid war, pictures of the ceramic cups sent to them, and the letters he received in reply. Included as part of the piece are handmade cups for visitors to take as keepsakes.

As I walked through the new Berkeley Art Center exhibit "War, Peace and Civil Liberties," it is clear that many of the other artists agree with Tool. War, whether experienced firsthand or indirectly, changes people and leaves an indelible impact. Though it is not the only topic of artistic discussion, it is the overwhelming theme and its presence can be felt in every piece.

Still, despite the seriousness of the subject matter, I let my penchant for pretty and shiny things guide me through the exhibition, and so silversmith Lynn Guenther's mixed metal pin "Approaching Reign" caught my eye. The pin depicts a carefully colored city and two people with their arms lifted skyward. A silver cloud filled with the outlines of falling missiles or perhaps descending fighter jets looms ominously over the city, and suddenly the pin was less quaint and "cute." It became morbidly fascinating-an image of something awful made beautiful by silver, copper, and brass.

The nine hummingbird ornaments entitled "Presidential Squadron" by Nuala Creed are equally as beautiful but subtler in meaning. Each bird suspended from the gallery ceiling wears different military garb. In the piece's description, Creed explains that when she was invited to create an ornament for the White House Christmas tree in 2002, she wanted to express her feelings about the president's policies through her submission but was afraid to do so. These birds represent what she wanted to send.

Creed's birds hover in front of four vertical panels of newspaper articles veiled by black gauze. Articles about the War on Iraq from four different newspapers-the Siam Chronicle, El Mundo, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Al Watan-create one whole image of mourning. I couldn't help but be reminded of my visit to the Vietnam Memorial a summer ago as I watched visitors approach the black wall to peer at the words and images beneath the veils. Annamarta Dostourian's appropriately titled work, "This is a Wedding, This is a Memorial," speaks for itself.

Across the gallery, Chicago's Mary Ellen Croteau addressed war in a more blatant fashion. "Bucket O' Brains" is almost exactly what its title says it is-pasty looking cerebral hemispheres inside a soldier's helmet sit on top of a white stand, looking as if it were the subject of a still-life portrait gone wrong. Similarly, Jos Sances "Christian Soldier" doesn't dance around the subject of religious hypocrisy. The soldier, rifle in hand and noose over shoulder, stares out across the room with inhuman, black-socket eyes, and the faint red cross painted over his face and chest seems to be bloody justification for his actions.

The "Soupcart" by Safai * Smith at the center of the exhibition provides a more hopeful message of compassion and peace. Last year, the two artists offered soup from the cart to people they met while walking around downtown San Francisco.

Remedios Rapaport continues the optimism of "Soupcart" by positively addressing all three topics of the exhibition with her three dimensional work, "Power to the People." Painted in the style of carousels from the 1800s, the piece is eye candy with purpose. A peephole lets viewers see a collage of demonstrations-the suffrage picketers of 1917, Ghandi's Salt March in 1930, Martin Luther King Jr. leading the last leg of the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965. The piece debuts just in time for the 40th Anniversary of the Free Speech Movement, and it reminds us that we, as a people united, have the power to affect change.

As I left the Art Center, a phrase from one of the pieces lingered in my mind-"an eye for an eye and the whole world is blind." Karen Weil's "An Eye for an Eye..." was simply white paper with that phrase embossed on it to resemble Brail, yet it was one of my favorites. Sitting at the bus stop, I hope things will never come to that because we still live in a beautiful (albeit deteriorating) world. Art like that found in this exhibition seeks only to preserve it by questioning and prodding and forcing us to think about our actions or inaction. At least, the idealist in me likes to think so.

"War, Peace and Civil Liberties" runs Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. until Nov. 6 at the Berkeley Art Center at 1275 Walnut Street. Admission is free.

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