With this print I wanted to draw attention to some of our nations "war tactics," also known as torture. Sadly, images like this are not uncommon and it disgusts me that our government officials are initiating and supporting such acts. I included a quote in the image to help remind us of what empathy means. I think the pairing of such a cruel image with heartfelt words is an intersting combination and I wanted it to make people think. The quote says that empathy becomes the source of activism, and I totally agree. Until we can realize we're all the same in the end, our problems seem quite hopeless.Malaquias Montoya has influenced me this semester. I love the combination of text with images and all of his prints seem to force you to look at them. Very inspirational! Montoya and the other social artists we've looked at this semester have all been pretty influential. I think it was great to look at their work and be able to respond to it. I think any time we have this sort of exposure or experience it makes us all better artists.
