The Power of Art to Reveal What We Overlook
How Thomas Price, Ai WeiWei and Aimée de Jongh push us to see the unseen
Recent museum visits have revealed the profound power of art in a time when marginalized individuals are made invisible, exploited in political discourse, and scapegoated for societal issues. In an exhibition by Thomas J. Price, his monumental, lifelike sculptures compel you to confront each individual up close, demanding acknowledgment and empathy. The larger-than-life sculptures force you to take a close look at each individual. In addition to these towering statues, there’s an odd installation where he licks a wall and creates an artwork with his blood. It’s fascinating that an artist capable of such lifelike sculptures ventures into abstract and multidisciplinary works. The beauty of such an exhibition is that it immerses you in the artist’s entire journey. Price elevates an often unseen group, placing them on pedestals, pulling them out of the everyday world, and compelling you to pause, observe, and ask yourself who these people truly are. The sheer scale of his works demands that you study them in detail.
It reminded me of Ai Weiwei’s In Search of Humanity exhibition, which I had previously seen in the same Kunsthal. Like Price, Ai creates monumental, realistic works that are impossible to ignore. His pieces on refugees focus on a broken group of people, weaving their experiences into classical Greek friezes, as seen in his Odyssey. Ai Weiwei calls attention to our shared humanity. His combining an ancient, iconic style with a modern crisis moves me deeply. It forces me to linger over the details and the significance of what people endure.
At the same time as Price’s exhibition, I had come specifically for one by Aimée de Jongh. Like Ai Weiwei and Price, de Jongh also explores vulnerable people. Her drawings and sketches of refugees bring these we individuals to life. One drawing of a barber in an asylum seekers’ center stood out the most. Also in her work, you see the human spirit — striving to build a life despite all odds.
Saturday evening, I curled up on the couch with a glass of wine and finished her graphic novel adaptation of Lord of the Flies by William Golding, which my wife had gifted me. Having seen her exhibition, I couldn’t help but notice the parallels between the lives of refugees and the story’s themes. Welcome to the Cruel World.
While preparing for a speech in our church, I came across Humankind by Rutger Bregman again. He references Lord of the Flies as an example of our skewed perception of humanity’s inherent tendency toward evil. While I mostly agree with his belief that people are capable of great good, I fear he may set himself up for disappointment.
Despite the good in people, selfishness and violence are ever-present. Yet, if we shift our focus from humanity as a whole and zoom in on the everyday individual, we begin to see the vulnerability and story in every person. While most people don’t only live virtuously, they are worth seeing in full complexity and detail.
