Art + Politics: Grounding Dialog
December 9, 2023 - January 7, 2024
Works in Progress, Art + Politics, 2023, at FSCJ, Jacksonville.
For the fourth consecutive year, MOCA Jacksonville is pleased to present a selection of prints from the printmaking course “Art + Politics” at UNF, where students create large-scale relief carvings on woodblocks and print them with a steamroller in collaboration with FSCJ. In this course, students are encouraged to freely discuss and interpret, respectfully disagree, and learn to develop common ground through art. This year, the exhibition presents the prints created by ten UNF students and seven FSCJ students.
Who doesn't understand fear, abuse, depression, bigotry, and racism? Who never felt the weight of the darkness?
Environmental instability, physical disability, displacement, immigration-these are all issues that threaten our peaceful co-existence. Some of us feel personally threatened; others are concerned about the safety of our natural environment. Amid so much divisiveness, we struggle to find commonality and tussle to practice plurality. It is perhaps simpler to segregate, detach, and self isolate from the ongoing atmosphere of division-but is this the best we can do?
The themes in the works presented here are controversial, yet together are harmonious. How did these young artists find a way to embrace the challenges and candidly discuss the yawning political divide? They established common ground among themselves and their dissenting opinions, learning something about each other, and establishing respect for one another as human beings. They imagined a future where individuals from across the political spectrum gain new understanding and ideas- and possibly build connection through respectful and open conversation.
On the frontiers of developing common ground, students used creativity, developed their artistic practice, and worked in collaboration. This approach was a great place to start; and these large-scale prints bridge all gaps.
Sheila Goloborotko
Associate Professor, Printmaking
UNF Art and Design Department
Printmaking students from FSCJ and UNF worked collaboratively at Florida State College (FSCJ) campus during the 2023 Blocktoberfest, printing large-scale woodblocks using a steamroller (FSCJ) campus on October 27, 2023. Special thanks to FSCJ professor Patrick Miko.