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| Make Art, Not War (2017) ⓒ Nicole Moore |
2017
Mixed Media Collage
8.3 x 11.7 inches
This month I wanted to feature Make Art, Not War , a mixed media collage made as part of a 2017 'Have You Made Art Today?' project to decorate my first sketchbook cover. In my case, it gave my sketchbook an identity.
Recycled materials used were strips of red, yellow, and green wrapping paper, plus items from a Vogue Magazine — a red 'spiral' shape and an A4 size sheet of art text which I cut up and rearranged vertically and horizontally. Also in the magazine was a small 'Make Art, Not War' image. I replaced this original image with a cutout copy of a headshot photograph of myself taken in the 1980s by a friend named Lennox. At the time the photograph was taken, I was holding Lennox's newborn baby daughter Kadesha, hence the smile!
'Make Art, Not War' is a popular slogan for artwork; an alternative phrase inspired by the popular 1960s anti-war mantra, "Make love, not war." There are numerous examples of the 'original' 'Make Art, Not War' image on the Internet.
My version of Make Art, Not War is both optimistic and political. In this current climate of war in numerous countries around the globe, it helps to take time to consider how we would like the world to be. Whilst making the artwork, I imagined how different our world could be if we made art, and made ourselves participate in creativity of all shapes and forms, rather than be at war, not only within the world but with the natural environment.
What does peace mean to you?
Comments welcome!
Thanks for reading.
