Antiwar multimedia installation Wed.—Thurs. at Hartford Art School

Hartford Art School
200 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford, (860) 786-4393
Artists Against the War: Disarming Images
Nov. 14—15, 2007.
Special screening Thurs. Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m. with visiting artist Joyce Kozloff

Press release

Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford hosts a public screening and follow-up discussion of Disarming Images, a one hour long, 3-screen, multimedia installation conceived and organized by Artists Against the War. It documents the upsurge of protest in the US, post 9/11 period against the war in Afghanistan, against the impending invasion of Iraq, and finally the continuous, ongoing fierce opposition to the war itself. The photographers and videographers of this American resistance have been producing an invaluable historical archive since the fall of 2001. The intention of Disarming Images is to share part of this extraordinary narrative, which the mainstream media has shielded from the world.

Disarming Images brings together a wide range of visual media representing the most creative protests since the Vietnam era. The contributors are both professional and amateur, working in a variety of media -- performance, video, billboard, installation, web art and photography. The images range from actions created by traditional activists to those who have never before spoken out, from artists to military families. Together they form a new, diverse culture of antiwar activity. Together, they present a provocative argument against continued manipulation by fear, and pre-emptive wars as justifiable options. Together, they imagine a life affirming world community.

The project is a simultaneous video documentation of actions and political documentaries, sequenced images from mass protest signs and large scale projections of still images interspersed with video clips, including a timeline of events. All compilations will be shown simultaneously, utilizing a combination of video monitors and projections to immerse the viewer experientially. AAW hopes to inspire, inform, and encourage participation in actions of dissent.

"We see Disarming Images as an organizing tool, a means to activate communities and students." - Artists Against the War

Informal Continuous Presentations Wednesday and Thursday, November 14 and 15, @ 10 a.m., 12 noon, 2 + 4 p.m. Media Box II, second floor, Renee Samuels Center, Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Ave, West Hartford CT 06117. Special Screening Thursday, November 15 @ 7:30 pm with visiting artist Joyce Kozloff. Admission free, Q+A follows.