Sun Mu is a North Korean artist who has excaped to South Korea and is now turning his training in propaganda painting into a voice for free expression. Check out Sun's work here and read the New York Times article on his intriguing journey as an artist.
If you take my heart Don't leave the smallest part I've no need to live if you're to come up gone An as my life turns to a song And if and when I treat you wrong No I never want to hurt our family
And I would give up everything No this is not just about me And I don't know a plainer way to say it Babe And they may pay us off in fame Though that is not why we came And I know well and good that won't heal our hearts
We came for salvation We came for family We came for all that's good that's how we'll walk away We came to break the bad We came to cheer the sad We came to leave behind the world a better way
Now if I'm walkin' through the rain And I hear you call my name I will break into a run without a pause And if your love laughs at your dreams Well it's not as bad as it seems Either way one of them has got to go And if you take of my soul You can still leave it whole With the pieces of you own you leave behind
We came for salvation We came for family We came for all that's good that's how we'll walk away We came to break the bad We came to cheer the sad We came to leave behind the world a better way
And I would give up everything And if you were to come up clean And see you shine so bright in a world of woe And they may pay us off in fame But that is not why we came And if it compromises truth then we will go
We came for salvation We came for family We came for all that's good that's how we'll walk away We came to break the bad We came to cheer the sad We came to leave behind the world a better way
Casey and Emily Lewis, owners of Beechwood Metalworks in Burlington, NC, are creating art that reaches a very specific community; the sick patients and their families spending days and nights in hospitals. If you have ever had to spend time there yourself- and I have spent many many days there with sick family- you know that the view from a hospital room can be depressing. Often the view includes parking decks, more buildings, and heating/ AC units. Casey and Emily have found a way to bring a smile to those who look out their window and find metal sculptures of flowers and animals waiting patiently to be discovered. Such unexpected whimsy can bring a smile to even the sickest patient- and what good medicine that can be.
Beechwood has installed sculptures at UNC Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill and at St. Francis Children's Hospital in Tulsa OK. More locations are in the works.
"Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact." - William S. Burroughs
Welcome
Welcome to my blog on art and activism. This space is dedicated to artists who are making art that is both visually engaging and conceptually focused on issues of social importance. In short, art that seeks to make the world a better place. Be prepared to be challenged, provoked, and hopefully inspired.
There is a thing in me that dreamed of trees, A quiet house, some green and modest acres A little way from every troubling town, A little way from factories, schools, laments. I would have time, I thought, and time to spare, With only streams and birds for company, To build out of my life a few wild stanzas.
And then it came to me, that so was death, A little way from everywhere. There is a thing in me still dreams of trees. But let it go. Homesick for moderation, Half the world’s artists shrink or fall away.
If any find solution, let him tell it. Meanwhile I bend my heart toward lamentation Where, as times implore our true involvement, The blades of every crisis point the way. I would it were not so, but so it is. Who ever made music of a mild day?
"If you ask me what I came to do in the world, I, an artist, will answer you: I came here to live out loud. "
- Emile Zola
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"Your work showcasing contemporary arts and activism is so refreshing and necessary, a calm to divisiveness and a balm to the spirit. I very much appreciate you tracking our work and the work of so many committed artists in a culture desperate for truth, beauty and grace. Thank you ever so much. Please keep up your excellent work.
"Recently heard from a guy named Lucas who has a magazine called Roots. He's found a place for our tiered justice installation. He saw us first on your blog site. Want to say thank you." -Frances
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There is always
"There is always a moment in any kind of struggle when one feels in full bloom. Vivid. Alive. One might be blown to bits in such a moment, and still be at peace....To be such a person or to witness anyone at this moment of transcendent presence is to know that what is human is linked, by daring compassion, to what is divine."
Alice Walker
"El hombre es solo la mitad de si mismo: la otra mitad es su expresion."
"What are they feeding me?" by Sun Mu.
