“The Poetry of Protest” our show in the Gallery of Art and Design at the University of Central Missouri of large prints of photographs from rallies, protests, marches, and demonstrations opened on September 26th. The exhibit closed on October 28th.
The exhibit is closed.
We left an open notebook with blank pages and pencils on a podium next to the exhibit title wall. The last comments:
Awesome: Thanks for all the clear evidences of democracy. It was truly enjoyable.
So important that children in the future know that were those of us who stood up against the war on democracy, truth, kindness [and] the environment – oh, yeah [and] the nuclear war being waged against women. Thank you for preserving this so the protests are not lost.
“The Poetry of Protest” our show in the Gallery of Art and Design at the University of Central Missouri of large prints of photographs from rallies, protests, marches, and demonstrations opened on September 26th. The exhibit runs through today.
We left an open notebook with blank pages and pencils on a podium next to the exhibit title wall. We get comments.
January 20, 2017 – Kansas City,Missouri – photo by Jerry Schmidt
Exhilarating! Thank you for taking the time and using your talent so effectively. I am grateful for every voice raised in outrage – particularly yours, because you have given expression to and an outlet for our collective grief. Thank you.
This morning three individuals who were in one of the images in the exhibit came to the gallery.
January 21, 2017 – Women’s March – Kansas City, Missouri – photo by Michael Bersin
Courtesy of Christian Cutler.
We’re the three queers in the tree! We came to see your exhibit; thank you for capturing all these moments in history. We are moved [….]
Looking through these pictures I’m reminded of a quote from Hamilton: “History has its eyes on you!” [….]
“The Poetry of Protest” our show in the Gallery of Art and Design at the University of Central Missouri of large prints of photographs from rallies, protests, marches, and demonstrations opened on September 26th. The exhibit runs through October 28th.
We left an open notebook with blank pages and pencils on a podium next to the exhibit title wall. We get comments.
January 20, 2017 – Kansas City, Missouri – photo by Jerry Schmidt
September 5, 2017 – DACA Protest – Kansas City, Missouri – photo by Jerry Schmidt
August 6, 2017 – Keystone Pipeline Protest – Lincoln, Nebraska – photo by Michael Bersin
January 21, 2017 – Women’s March – Kansas City, Missouri – photo by Michael Bersin
Terrific shots, and an altogether thought provoking display. I couldn’t help but notice the intensity of expression that Mr. Schmidt caught in many of the portraits; when you combined that expression with the subject’s attire (or even that of the people around them) the photo took on a kind of time suspension. The photo of the man in a green hat was especially striking – between the man, [and] the woman just to his left who is wearing a yellow cap, I could almost imagine this having been taken in the 1930s which in itself is an interesting experience for the viewer.
Another favorite: the gentleman in a PYO t-shirt [and] a red bandana on his face. [….] The expression in the gentlemen’s eyes suggests to me a kind of resignation/fatigue that again reminds me that the struggle is anything but new.
[….] The horse group picture is interesting for the same reasons as the photos I’ve mentioned already. Their expressions are much “older” than their attire which makes for a jarring juxtaposition, something I (well, now you can tell, clearly) find thought provoking.
The lady in scarf photo I like for different reasons. Her expression coupled w[ith] the luminosity of the photo in general just speaks to me one word – “optimism”. So much so that, had you told me that it was a staged photo for an advertisement I would have aid, “OK, well, that’s laying it on a bit thick, no? [….]!” But the fact that it was a ‘real’ shot just makes it too good for words. Here again, the clothing adds an unexpected dimension to the way I perceive any “message” of the flag symbolism. The fabrics she wears are all soft [and] she is completely covered by layers of the things she wears. It gives me a message that we are “covered”/”encapsulated” by the notion of “country”, that, for good or bad, it is bigger than the individual. But the women’s face really draws the eye in (her smile is arresting) [and] then sends the viewer’s eye out, because you wonder what she was seeing that caused her to react. Coupled with the light, as I said before, it just gives a hopeful, optimistic effect.
[….] I just want you both to know that I didn’t just think “ah, these are nice shots”. I found them to be a thought provoking, multi layered experience. “Poetry” was a great title for this exhibition. [….]
This is an historical exhibition of the times we are living in. Having been in demonstrations in the 60s, I did not think we would have to do this again. Unfortunately we do.
We must never forget that progress has never occurred without such protests. These are pictures of the best in our country.
Let’s celebrate that and never forget that we must stand against the reactionary forces moving our country back.
“The Poetry of Protest” our show in the Gallery of Art and Design at the University of Central Missouri of large prints of photographs from rallies, protests, marches, and demonstrations opened on September 26th. The exhibit runs through October 28th.
The sequence of images in the gallery from the January 21, 2017 Women’s March in Washington Square Park in Kansas City.
We left an open notebook with blank pages and pencils on a podium next to the exhibit title wall. We get comments.
Without STRUGGLE their can be NO progress – Frederick Douglass
I’m a senior in High School, my hope I for a brighter, healthier future for all. Thank you for sharing these pictures.
Thank you for the time and energy and attention you’ve given this project. You have chronicled the faces of expression. The show is an outstanding example of the power of social/documentary photography.
“The Poetry of Protest” our show in the Gallery of Art and Design at the University of Central Missouri of large prints of photographs from rallies, protests, marches, and demonstrations opened on September 26th. The exhibit runs through October 28th.
We left an open notebook with blank pages and pencils on a podium next to the exhibit title wall. We get comments.
We do have freedom of speech but some of these protests show how imature [sp] America really is. These photograph do have great meaning…but for what purpose? To anger others? If you want to “Make America great again” be humble and kind – anonymous
If you want to criticize the maturity of others you might want to check your spelling as you do so.
Freedom of speech is freedom of speech. It ain’t free if someone else gets to impose their sensibility over your expression. Put differently, who died and made you God?
Sure, counter someone else’s free speech with your own free speech. Knock yourself out. Get a camera, take some photographs, make some prints, put together a gallery show. But you won’t, will you?
Meaning is what you make of it. Purpose is what you make of it. Protest is supposed to make people uncomfortable. We assume by your writing that the exhibit makes you angry. Okay.
People who protest in the streets chose to do so because they believe they have no other recourse available to them.
There’s a delicious irony in your juxtaposition of “make America great again” with humility and kindness. The former has absolutely nothing to do with the latter two. Did you do that on purpose? The purveyor of “make America great again” is neither humble nor kind. He’s a sociopath.
“The Poetry of Protest” our show in the Gallery of Art and Design at the University of Central Missouri of large prints of photographs from rallies, protests, marches, and demonstrations opened on September 26th. The exhibit runs through October 28th.
It is important and vital for a free society that its people speak and act when there is injustice. These photos truly capture the passion and emotion of the event, even in just one moment.
“The Poetry of Protest” our show in the Gallery of Art and Design at the University of Central Missouri of large prints of photographs from rallies, protests, marches, and demonstrations opened on September 26th.
We left an open notebook with blank pages and pencils on a podium next to the exhibit title wall. We get comments.
Everything is propaganda
“Propaganda is not designed to fool the critical thinker, but only to give moral cowards an excuse not to think at all” – protest sign, circa 2003- 2004.
Here’s the thing – if something makes you question or think it defeats the whole purpose of propaganda.
Life sucks as it is, so why does trump have to make it worse???
“The Poetry of Protest” our show in the Gallery of Art and Design at the University of Central Missouri of large prints of photographs from rallies, protests, marches, and demonstrations opened on September 26th.
We left an open notebook with blank pages and pencils on a podium next to the exhibit title wall. We get comments.
Thank you for hard work. A picture is worth a thousand words. Each and every photo is telling me stories.
Love the emotions displayed in these photographs.
Thank you for giving these people a voice on campus without even having to speak. A picture is worth 1,000 words!
The heart is there, but maybe add some other views. It would be more fair to represent the U.S. a whole.
Seriously? More fair? Corporations and billionaires aren’t out in the streets – they don’t have to be to get what they want.
We repeat ourselves:
1. “A gallery exhibit is not a vehicle for the ‘all opposing views are equal’ mantra in some circles of old media.”
2. “It would be impossible to cover and ‘show all sides of American protest’. Again, some protests were so minimal or obscure and there was no public notice. We’re not omniscient, nor do we claim to be…”
3. “Right wingnuts in America now have everything they’ve ever wanted – they control the Presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court. For the most part they’re not in the streets protesting in any significant numbers…”
4. “Here’s the thing. You want a gallery show about those particular subjects? Go get a decent full frame camera, drive all over the state and the Midwest to cover these types of events, photograph them in some competent manner, make aesthetic choices about which images will work, start a discussion with a gallery over a period of two years, make numerous test prints on various papers, make the exhibit prints, and put the show up. Knock yourself out. But you won’t, will you? You’ll just complain about the unfairness of it all.”
5. “All art is biased.”
Thus endeth the lesson (for today).
Unpopular opinion: I don’t think Trump is Hitler 2.0
Wait, was it the Tiki torches, the raised arm salutes, or the swastikas that gave it away? Just asking.
There’s so much to unpack in just the first two words. Trump is unpopular, eh?
We don’t recall a single image in the exhibit labeling Donald Trump as “Hitler 2.0”.
….I wanted to ask you specifically about the Thanksgiving strip where Huey compares President Bush to Osama bin Laden. Do you think that’s crossing the line on a holiday like that after a major tragedy such as Sept. 11?
A couple of things about that: One, I stole that joke from an Internet forward that was going around. I don’t even know who originated it. Two, the best thing about that strip is that it never says G.W. Bush. The reader has to make the connection. If the reader reads what I wrote and thinks about G.W. Bush, that means it’s fucking true! So I didn’t make it up; you came to the conclusion as well. And if it’s true, why are you mad at me? If he’s not all those things, then what are you mad at? (Laughs.)….
“The Poetry of Protest” our show in the Gallery of Art and Design at the University of Central Missouri of large prints of photographs from rallies, protests, marches, and demonstrations opened on September 26th.
At 3:00 p.m. today we’ll be in the gallery to talk about the exhibit with anyone who wants to listen.
“The Poetry of Protest” our show in the Gallery of Art and Design at the University of Central Missouri of large prints of photographs from rallies, protests, marches, and demonstrations opened on September 26th. We left an open notebook with blank pages and pencils on a podium next to the exhibit title wall. We get comments.
The photos are absolutely amazing but I don’t believe they show all sides of American protests. They may be a little biased. Great shots though!
Well, okay. We appreciate the praise. This is an exhibit in an art gallery. As we’ve said before: “A gallery exhibit is not a vehicle for the ‘all opposing views are equal’ mantra in some circles of old media.”
How did we get to the point as a culture that the arguably false premise in old media that all opposing views are equal and must be aired equally is the expected norm for everything? Well, of course, question everything. But sometimes a stupid idea is just a stupid idea and it’s not worth equal consideration or weight in anyone’s book.
We covered what we covered, photographed what we photographed. We selected images based on a number of criteria (and so did the gallery director) – relevance, quality, aesthetics. A massive number of images were considered, but weren’t printed. Some images made it to print, but weren’t brought to the gallery. Some of the prints brought to the gallery were not displayed. In one case we forgot to pack one of the very large prints with the others (that’s easier than you think when you’re delivering close to seventy prints) – it never made it to the gallery.
It would be impossible to cover and “show all sides of American protest”. Again, some protests were so minimal or obscure and there was no public notice. We’re not omniscient, nor do we claim to be. Sometimes we covered other protests but we failed to get any “good” images. That could mean something as mundane as poor focus or unredeemable composition in the images. Like people who fish we sometimes talk about the ones that got away.
There is the matter of saturation. In case anyone hasn’t noticed there are a lot people protesting a lot of things. Again, as we said before: “Right wingnuts in America now have everything they’ve ever wanted – they control the Presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court. For the most part they’re not in the streets protesting in any significant numbers…”
