|
But the "Back to School Shopping" art
installation by the artist WhIsBe is a commentary on U.S. mass
school shootings, intended to raise the question: How long
before life imitates art?
The child-sized bulletproof vests are adorned with cartoon
characters Pikachu, Care Bears and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,
while the lunch boxes are filled with replica guns, Tasers and
brass knuckles. The exhibit, in warehouse-style space in the
heart of Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, also features a game
arcade claw machine filled with brightly colored cap guns.
The artist, whose nom de plume WhIsBe stands for "What is
Beauty," is aiming for a gut-punching reaction to an exhibit
that he hopes will spur action to combat school shootings.
"The reactions are full spectrum from shock to upset to being
angry, but not angry at what I'm doing, angry at the stark fact
that this could be a reality," the artist, who does not reveal
his real name, said in an interview on Monday.
U.S. schools have been rocked by a steady stream of shootings in
the nearly two decades since the Columbine High School massacre
that killed 13 people in 1999. A growing national campaign by
young people to tackle gun violence and toughen laws on firearms
sales has turned up the volume of the debate over guns in
America, where the right to bear arms is protected under the
Second Amendment of the Constitution. [nL1N1RX1SP]
Since 1970, there have been more than 1,300 incidents of gun
violence at schools in the United States, according to the K-12
School Shooting Database maintained by the Naval Postgraduate
School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security.
The art exhibit, located in the Starrett-Lehigh Building in
Chelsea, runs through June 30.
"I'm hoping that people are going to experience a different
visceral reaction that will maybe change their thoughts about
the matter into provoking them into action," WhIsBe said.
(Reporting by Roselle Chen; Additional reporting by Barbara
Goldberg; Editing by Leslie Adler)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
