Je Suis Charlie / Ahmed

I want to live in a world where making art can’t get you killed. Perhaps there isn’t a more appropriate response to last week’s attacks in Paris than to make more art, and I’m grateful for the cartoonists and others who have done so.

That includes Circé, a knitter and designer living in France, who made this pencil from one my patterns.

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And Lorna of Knits for Life, who shared this yarn bombing on Facebook the other day.

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When I was a freshman in college, one of the first classes that I took was named “Offensive Art.” I thought the name was kind of dumb, because who cares if there are still people out there who are offended by art? Then we learned about the Taliban and how they were destroying ancient Buddhist art in Afghanistan, and that answered my question.

I know that the attack on Charlie Hebdo was, at its roots, about more than art. But I also believe that art and other freedoms of expression are the way forward for us all.

5 thoughts on “Je Suis Charlie / Ahmed

  1. If art isn’t allowed to criticize, then what is it allowed to do? Just show the good and not the bad? Just confirm the status quo that everything’s fine?

    Not all art has to do the above but the artists who choose to do so should be allowed to without fearing for his or her life.

  2. Thanks for sharing your thoughts–and my yarnbomb. It feels good to know other artists are emboldened to take a stand instead of cowing in fear after the recent attacks.

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