Response to the Iraq war exhibit

¶ … shoes still haunt me; the other day I had a nightmare in which a man loomed over me, a giant, wearing a pair of army boots. He held something over my head that made me scream and I woke up stunned. It took me a few moments to remember that my family and I had visited the "Eyes Wide Open" installation art exhibition on a recent trip to New York City. The dream must have been a twisted recollection of what I saw in the drizzling rain that afternoon. Hundreds of shoes like the boots in my dream stood alone and without their owners in Central Park. The varied, used footwear was arranged by artists in a somewhat haphazard yet careful format, designed to evoke both a sense of chaos and disorientation and hope. Furthermore, the exhibit's surroundings were as eerie and evocative as the boots themselves: mere meters from where John Lennon was shot and just a few miles from Ground Zero. It was no wonder the lingering images and sensations of "Eyes Wide Open" left a psychic imprint on my brain. The exhibit, and my memories and reflections of it, also bring to life the academic content of this course, especially as it pertains to the ongoing war in Iraq.

Eyes Wide Open" is a politically and socially conscious art installation sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker human rights organization that has been working in Iraq since 1990. In conjunction with "Eyes Wide Open," the American Friends Service Committee runs a comprehensive website entitled "Iraq Aftermath: The Human Face of War," which can be found at url http://www.afsc.org/iraq/default.htm. The website provides some background information and current events articles that enhance understanding of the exhibit, placing it into greater historical and philosophical context.

The exhibit itself visually and viscerally brings the concepts of the course home. Photos of the Central Park installation that I saw can be found on the "Eyes Wide Open" website. However, even the pictures do not capture the essence of the exhibit. The sheer number of empty old shoes on display was astounding. At first I had no idea why the shoes were there; they were obviously on display for an artistic purpose and were not part of a massive Central Park garage sale. As we made our way through the labyrinth of shoes, my family and I encountered the other essential part of the exhibit: the names. Attached to each pair of shoes is a tag bearing the name and age of an American soldier who died in Iraq.

The empty shoes signify the space and void that a death of a loved one implies. Therefore, emptiness is the dramatic and traumatic consequences of any war. As many people believe the war in Iraq was unjustly waged by the United States, the shoes also provide a powerful reminder of the empty promises and platitudes of politicians. Regardless of the viewer's political sentiments, "Eyes Wide Open" is sure to astonish and astound because its message is universal. I would highly recommend anyone to visit it as it travels throughout the United States.

The exhibit opened in Chicago and has already made its way through Ohio, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and even as far as Florida. Soon the exhibit will make its way west, all the way to California and Washington State. All Americans will have the chance to see this powerful reminder of the troops that still remain in Iraq and the thousands more who might get sent there as war rages on. Because the shoes come in all shapes, sizes, styles, and colors, their diversity also signifies the heterogeneity of the American people. Their diversity also reminds the viewer that war claims the lives of people regardless of their gender, race, or ethnicity.

Although "Eyes Wide Open" is grand in both scale and scope and is designed to be an outdoor installation, the exhibit feels intimate. Viewers can walk around the shoes and read the names off the plaque in silence and solitude or amongst the comfort of loved ones and friends. Glancing at the photos of the exhibit on the American Friends Service Committee website I noticed how "Eyes Wide Open" has a different feel and effect depending on its venue. The shoes are arranged differently in different places, depending on the particular setting. When "Eyes Wide Open" went to Youngstown, Ohio, for instance, the boots were placed on display behind the bars of a courthouse. The harsh, confining conditions there conveyed an entirely different effect than the greenery of Central Park.