In the NYT article, Fazlalizadeh maintains that her work is art first and foremost, but that she does not mind being cast as an activist. With street harassment being such a pervasive issue, especially in large cities like Atlanta, and especially New York, her messages resonate with people who are forced to encounter verbal harassment on a regular basis. It is important not to underestimate or undervalue the impact that visual disruptions of space can have. In addition to comforting the women who experience street harassment through these messages of solidarity, her street art forces people to check themselves, at least momentarily. For people who don't think street harassment is a "big deal" (*eye roll*), this might be one of the few times they are condemned for their behavior and bother to listen/notice. Fazlalizadeh's street art helps reclaim public space for women by forcing harassers and would-be harassers to check themselves and their behavior.
For a more local example of disrupting and reclaiming space, the Rhodes Peer Advocate Center's Clothesline Project does a great job with this. As many of you probably remember, the Clothesline Project stayed in the quad between Palmer and FJ for several weeks, displaying messages from survivors and allies to bring attention to sexual assault. Taking up public space with important messages like these forces people who might not otherwise engage in these discussions (think: prospective students and college tour guides) to at least be exposed to the issue at hand. Like Fazlalizadeh's street art, the Clothesline generated lots of discussion on campus and provided away for survivors to have their voices heard without having to confront people face-to-face.
Another recent example are the signs by @ConscRadicals posted around campus dealing with racism. I have heard and seen many people stop to read and talk about the signs and their various messages like, "'I do not see color.' No wonder you can't see your privilege!"
All of these are great examples to keep in mind as you film your final projects or continue with your activism. Please share your thoughts and other great public disruptions of space you may have seen or heard about!
Alex,
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely check out some of Suzanne Lacy's work, especially In Mourning and In Rage (http://www.suzannelacy.com/early-works/#/in-mourning-and-in-rage-1977/) and Three Weeks in May (http://www.suzannelacy.com/early-works/#/three-weeks-in-may/). One strategy of the latter was to locate areas of high rape-frequency and to chalk on the sidewalk messages like "2 women were raped here on X date." In effect, Lacy turned bystanders into witnesses, and thus rendered them complications by their inactivity. She drew a line in the sand (or on the sidewalk, if you will) that articulated that if you're not actively fighting against rape, you're actively aiding its perpetuation. However, something that has oft come up in discussions of rupturing public space in regards to traumatic experiencing is the fear of triggering. For example, there's this group called Iraq Veterans Against The War who held a series of guerrilla street theatre performances wherein they dressed in uniform and staged mock-street patrols around cities like NYC, DC, Chicago and others. They had planted volunteers who they would detain upon arrival, which would scare the shit out of other bystanders. However, the triggering that occurred here was not from the bystanders, but the actual veterans conducting the action; indeed, many remarked that they would just "click" and the psychological training and muscle-memory would take over. They'd stop seeing people as people, but as enemies, and would have the urge to do serious - if not fatal - harm. These actions literally began to drive the members apart, and thus they eventually had to quit doing them. Nonetheless, they were incredibly impactful, both for bystanders and participants alike.