©Steven Two Hawk

Taking the Land Back

"Injustice, racism, and discrimination against my Native people from Alaska to Argentina.

Since the first Spanish explorer sailed into the Americas in the late 1400's, Native Americans have been seen not as humans, but as slaves, hethens, and blood-thristy savages. This United States, Canada, Mexico, all of it sits on crimes against humanity in order to be who they are today. The massacre at Mystic River in the 1600's, the English colonists attack a Mashentucket Pequot village, killing all that considered themselves one, women and children. Our president Andrew Jackson on the 20 dollar bill is best known for his Indian Removal Act in the 1830's, stating any Indian west of the Mississippi River that would not conform to white American society and convert to Christianity would be forced to move west into "Indian Territory", a flat, barren, treeless land for Indians that lived in the dense forests of the southeast and ohio valley. The attack on peaceful reservations such as Sand Creek, where the Cheyenne were promised if an American flag had flown above their camp, they would not be attacked, and of course attacked they were, killing and scalping them all. Soldiers sexually mutilated Indian women's breasts after the massacre and played "catch" with them. The Wounded Knee massacre of 1890, where over 230 fleeing Lakota-Sioux were slaughtered by howitzers and surrounded by firing soldiers. A white doctor accounted helping save a 6 year old girl after Wounded Knee, and in giving her water it all drained out of a bullet hole in her neck......What help have we been given now?

Becides our reservations shrinking from encroachment, even in modern day, the Great Sioux Reservation was cut into pieces according to band, and the land taken was land rich in uranium and coal deposits. The U.S. Goverment forcing reservations to be in poverty as we speak, to encourage Native Americans to move to the cities to make a better living, and lose they're Indian indentity and traditional ways of life, spiritual traditions, and overall sense of pride in being a minority.

In 1990, The Oka Crisis in Canada started when Quebec wanted to sede Kanesatake-Mohawk reservation land to extend a golf course, the land on it filled with dense pine forests and an ancient burial ground. When the Mohawks led protests in the streets, the bulldozers came and started clearing. When the Mohawks militantly resisted by arming themselves and creating blockcades..the media and government labeled them terrorists, murderers, and criminals to gain public support. This is why I have drawn this way, this is why I am now proud to be Native American, and this is certainly why I use art to portray activism for my people...a change needs to occur.
Please e-mail me with any questions on any of these events."

Artist: Steven Two Hawk - Native American (Blackfoot)/French Canadian
Medium: Ballpoint Pen
Website: http://lakota-eyes.deviantart.com

©Theresa Freyja (Teresa Kuldova)

 

The Face of Beauty

"Inspired by an african girl subjected to cruel clitoridotomy I met in Norway as an asylum seeker. Think that the "inspiration" of the painting speaks for itself...
(Human Right 5)

Artist: Theresa Freyja (Teresa Kuldova) - Czech Republic
Medium: oil on canvas
Website: www.freewebs.com/anthroartgallery

©Shaun Devereux

Open View

"The war on terror, the disgusting misuse of fire power, the innocent civilians that get tangled up in the atrocities now all over the
world"

Artist: Shaun Devereux - Britain
Medium: Digital manipulation
E-mail: shaun_tina@msn.com

©Shaun Devereux

Lost Soul

"Children are so often abused, that the images we see on a day to day basis become mind numbingly boring. It doesn't matter what we consume in the news, sweat shops, Suicide bombers or guantanamo bay etc. We just go on eating grass!!"

Artist: Shaun Devereux - Britain
Medium: Digital manipulation
E-mail: shaun_tina@msn.com

©Natasja de Wet

"When I read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "no torture or degrading treatment" resonates the most with me, as it brings up thoughts, feelings and an awareness of the possibility and choice; that you can say NO to emotional, physical and verbal abuse by taking your power back by setting boundaries"

Artist: Natasja de Wet - South Africa
Medium: Oil on Perspex
Website: www.art.co.za/natasjadewet/default.htm

©Laura Tomasini

Woman Afghan

"There is some time, I visited sites about the condition of the women in the World, and I fell on an article concerning the women Afghans. What I read horrified me, and really, I said myself that there was not worse condition of the woman only the one that they live over there. I really believe, that it is one of the worst places in the World. I could not remain indifferent to what I read, and for evident reasons naturally. I cannot move in Afghanistan, then I had to make with the means of the edge: my digital camera, Photoshop and myself. At the beginning, I did not know how to make, because I have nothing of a half-blood. Finally I laughed alone, saying in myself that I did not even know what looked like a woman Afghan, the little which we can see of them, they are their eyes. And thus, I held my idea.

Simply because the women (in Afghanistan) benefit from no rights. Their life is all the opposite of the declaration of human rights "

Artist: Laura Tomasini - French, Corsica
Medium: Digital Manipulation
Website: http://lauratomasini.imagekind.com/androgynous/

 

©Lana Douglas

Oppression,
Series Two, Study Five

"Series Two was a continuation of Series One (primarily inspired by the cultural oppression of women) but the inspiration for Series Two was strongly influenced by having just read the book "Burned Alive".

Declaration Number Five states: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In "Burned Alive" the author describes an attempt on her life by burning her to death because she became pregnant out of wedlock. That was the basis of the book but there were many other horrors she experienced (as do women all over the world) that included torture, cruel, inhuman AND degrading treatment AND punishment, the burn attempt being only one of many.

There are many issues and occurrences which oppose the Declaration of Human Rights. I attempted to remind people of some of these issues/occurrences, without presenting anything too gory or offensive.."

Artist: Lana Douglas - Canadian
Medium: oil on paper
Website: www.lanadouglas.com

 

 

Betray This Moment

"Being abused and trying to heal from it. This is self expression of the hurt I felt and hope that it brings awarness to people about abuse of people and or any living thing like animals. To show the pain. I feel that noliving thing should be treated with cruelty."

Artist: Aunja Kahn - Mutt
Medium: Mixed media
Website: www.auniakahn.com

 

©Tamara Yamour

 

Iraqi Woman with Baby

"The heartbreaking genocide that is occuring in Iraq.

Iraqi civilians are continually being subject to death, torture, rape - all of which are inhumane treatment and horrendous."

Artist: Tamara Yamour - USA
Medium: Oil on canvas
Website: http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u206/tjohnst0n/