In hopes of assuring safety from crime, nearly seventy million Americans purchase guns. Others refuse to buy a gun fearing that that it will more likely be used against a family member. And the posturing of the gun and gun control lobbies, each armed with volumes of statistical data, does little to assist Americans in making informed decisions about this important issue. Despite this situation, discussion and debate must continue regarding the appropriate role of guns in society. Addressing complex and potentially unresolvable issues, while hazardous to political interests, might expedite understanding and reconciliation.
Artists Look at Guns .
This exhibition follows a long tradition of CMP projects that use the eyes and visions of artists as a catalyst for larger community dialog. In Our Sights attempts to minimize one-sided rhetoric through the inclusion of a wide range of personal viewpoints and a consideration of issues such as the consequences of gun ownership, individual rights, the relationship between guns and violence, victims of gun violence and the gun as an icon and symbol. Large scale evidence photographs of Cress' wounds serve as a point of departure for the rest of her work which reaffirms the overt and subliminal powers that are the symbolic core of the gun. Rather than condemning her aggressor, Cress explores sexuality, violence and murder. In a gallery of suspended shrouds, the background voices are from the mothers, whose words describe the circumstances of their children's death.