War Zone Home
dal 12/11/2013 al 16/1/2014
Segnalato da
12/11/2013
War Zone Home
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York
How do artists respond to senseless killings? They respond by painting, sculpting, constructing and silk - screening their creative polemic. Their anger is focused and channelled through creativity and production, rather than destruction and violence.
From 1960 when the crime rate was 3,384,200 for a population of 179,323175 it has risen to 10,914.040 in a population of 13,914,902. From our public High Schools and Universities to the Movie Theater killings in Aurora, Colorado, where 12 innocent people were killed, and to the 32 Virginia Tech shootings we have witnessed an abundance of violent deaths in our country. It is a particularly senseless act when perpetrated against children as it was at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. These numbers did vacillate as murder with guns dropped 39% to 11,101 in 2011 from a high of 18,253 in 1993.However they are expected to rise to 33,000 by 2015 and according to the September 17th 2013 issue of Huffington Post, gun killings will end up being the cause of a larger number of deaths than car accidents. Violence has become so commonplace that universities and other schools have added entrance guards and metal detectors a other public safety measures. John Jay's President Jeremy Travis recently sent a memo to he entire community on the prevention of violence on campus and the appropriate action to take should an incident become imminent.
So what are some of the causes of this acceleration in violence among us? Delegate House speaker Michael Busch recently stated that "The vast majority of violence takes place with handguns. The significant mass - shootings take place with semi - automatic weapons..." Most recently, because of the Navy Yard shootings of 57 people, tougher gun control laws were proposed but were vetoed and oposed by such politicians as Hartford County's Senator Nancy Jacobs who called for killing the new gun control laws before they were passed. However, in Maryland, more stringent control methods are being put in place, starting October 1st, such as fingerprinting that can be used for background checks on people with handguns. In addition, legislature has decided that there should be no more sales of semi - automatic weapons. It is generally agreed that better gun control and enforcement, as well as stronger gun laws are necessary to reduce gun violence.
Opening reception Wednesday 13 November 2013 from 17.30 to 19.30
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The President's Gallery
899 Tenth Ave
From Monday to Friday 9 - 17, or by appointment