How a collage can protest against the War on Terror

Art as a protest can allow a singular image to speak a hundred words. In the modern day,  graphic designers use the power of the internet as their digital ‘street’ to demonstrate their artistic protest. As Boris Groys argues, Art Activism as protest is an essential movement for the modern day, where he believes these creative activists want to have a say in the world, but change it for a better one at the same time (Groys, 2014).

I was particularly drawn to Ugur Gallenkus’s use of collage to impactfully present the Eastern and Western injustices of war, violence and poverty. His recent ‘Liberty of Guns’ from February 2020, presents the Statue of Liberty in collage with a gun being held by an Iraqi soldier to present the tense conflict on the War on Terror. The way in which Gallenkus so cleverly uses images of such a similar composition is what makes his photomontages so impactful.

Produced in February, I argue that this collage protests against President Trump’s recent decisions. Such a topical issue, the threat of a conflict with Iran heightened. Gallenkus uses collage, instead of verbal protest, to present the USA as a country of violence, destruction and volatility. The air strike of General Suleimani, as ordered by President Trump, shocked the world and sparked an influx of media outrage at his ruthless actions of murder.

It is the element of irony that Gallenkus uses within ‘Liberty of Guns’ that makes it such a impactful protest image. The Statue of Liberty is a poignant symbol of American independence and freedom from oppression.

Gallenkus does not have a website, but only uses Instagram as his main source of output for his work. The influence of social media today is exceptionally powerful in our modern age, where in the press of a button can allow an image to be printed, reused and reposted all over the world in a matter of seconds.

To a certain extent, I believe Trump’s actions to brutally murder such a respected leader were rash. However, reports from NCB and BBC news only confirm that General Suleimani was plotting a shadow war with the Western world, where weapons of mass destruction were only brewing to destroy hundreds of people. Thus, Trump’s actions were rash and violent, yet, the overall outcome may have just saved hundreds of lives. This tension of conflict is exactly what Gallenkus is arguing to protest through his imagery.

Get Involved?

United For Peace and Justice: http://www.unitedforpeace.org

Stop The War Coalition: http://www.stopwar.org.uk

Founded in 2001, dedicated in stopping wars in the fight to end the War on Terror

Exhibitions

Berlin Anti-War Museum: http://www.anti-kriegs-museum.de

Bibliography

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Anon, Instagram.com. 2020. Uğur Gallenkuş (@Ugurgallen) • Instagram Photos And Videos. [online] Available at: <https://www.instagram.com/ugurgallen/&gt; [Accessed 21 February 2020].

CBS News, 2020. Trump Blames Iran For U.S. Embassy Attack In Iraq. [image] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si0jfeg8wyw&gt; [Accessed 21 February 2020].

E-flux.com. 2014. On Art Activism – Journal #56 June 2014 – E-Flux. [online] Available at: <https://www.e-flux.com/journal/56/60343/on-art-activism/&gt; [Accessed 19 February 2020].

Jelinek, Alana., 2013. This is not art : activism and other ‘not-art’. I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd.

Rivers, B., 2020. Opinion | Trump Was Right To Kill Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. [online] NBC News. Available at: <https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-assassination-iran-s-qassem-soleimani-was-smart-thing-ncna1111586&gt; [Accessed 19 February 2020].

Statugaitis, L., 2019. Jarring Juxtapositions Of Prosperity And Conflict By Uğur Gallenkuş. [online] Colossal. Available at: <https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/05/ugur-gallenkus-collage/&gt; [Accessed 21 February 2020].

Uptas, A., 2019. This Artist Combines Photos From Different Parts Of The World To Show The Contrast Between Them. [online] Demilked. Available at: <https://www.demilked.com/contrast-between-worlds-ugur-gallen/&gt; [Accessed 20 February 2020].