On Friday, students walked onto campus to see an array of art projects, courtesy of the quarterly Art 7A. The class, taught by Professor Kip Fulbeck, examines the integration of art into everyday life. At the end of the quarter, students tackle a “personal space” assignment, in which students seek to occupy public spaces with pieces of performance art.
One of this quarter’s projects, located on the walkway between HSSB and Theater and Dance West, is titled “Get out of my personal space” and tackled the recent Alabama law that effectively banned abortion in the state.
The art piece, created by UC Santa Barbara third-year global studies Ryann McCollum, featured several wooden poles with the faces of the 25 men who voted yes on the bill; the men’s faces are blurred out, with varying phrases written on top including “It’s not the ’60s anymore” and “What about my life?”
McCollum said she created the piece as a comment on the recent laws and how “women’s bodies and reproductive systems continue to be dictated by white republican men in government.”
“I saw an opportunity to turn my art into activism. I hope that those who experienced the installation would become more conscious about the paradox between the lawmakers and those reaping the effects of the laws dictated by them, [and] as well as are inspired to join the fight against the patriarchy,” McCollum said in a statement to the Nexus.
The piece’s description, as outlined in a piece of paper taped to the ground, reads: “‘Get out of my personal space’ is a piece created to comment on how laws pertaining to women’s bodies and reproductive systems continue to be dictated by white men in government. This piece was triggered by the state of Alabama government voting to ban abortions to the extent of incest and rape. This law has now became the United State’s most restrictive abortion regulation. The law received 25 votes of 35 indicated to ban abortion – all 25 of these votes came from white, republican men.”
Photos of the project, taken by Nexus photographers, can be viewed below:
