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Syracuse University Art Museum’s walls are covered with photos of monuments in Washington D.C., New York City and Jackson, Mississippi. Each image is altered with colorful strikethroughs, forcing viewers to pause and rethink their perception of each statue.

“The continued theme of obstruction, from a piercing red light or from shadow, is intriguing to me and leads me to an eerie and foreboding feeling,” said freshman Truman Diehl.

The collection of photographs is part of Nona Faustine’s “My Country,” which has been displayed at the SU Art Museum since Aug. 24. Melissa Yuen, the museum’s Interim Chief Curator, started including Faustine’s art in the museum in 2019. She finds it crucial for college students to view Faustine’s stories and be exposed to non-traditional opinions.

“It is my hope that students can, through the close [observation] of Nona’s works, start to unpack what the narratives are and how these narratives are part of our everyday lives,” Yuen said.

SU Art Museum will host Faustine’s exhibit until May. The pioneering photography piece encourages viewers to pause and reflect on patriotic monuments and historical idols.

Faustine, an American photographer from Brooklyn, New York, studied at Bard College. As an African-American artist, Faustine feels a connection and concern with the history of racism targeted at African American individuals in American history.

Faustine’s “My Country” showcases national monuments in their glory — with varying Faustine-modifications, such as strikethroughs and drawings on the statues. Shadows overtake the marble exteriors of the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument; Lady Liberty’s green dress is sliced with inky color; red paint bleeds through the face and torso of J. Marion Sims; and red bars strikethrough Theodore Roosevelt in “In Praise of Famous Men No More.”

The piece “Dr. J. Marion Sims” depicts a striking photograph of Central Park’s statue of J. Marion Sims, with a red slash through the figure.

Sims, known as the “Father of Gynecology,” contributed pioneering advancements to the childbirth process. But buried behind his accolades, Sims’ experimentation process holds an unsightly truth. He conducted his research via unanesthetized, agonizing experimentation on enslaved African women.

Through artwork like “My Country,” Faustine uses her platform to acknowledge the hidden components of discoveries that Sims and many other revered figures are praised for.

Faustine’s other pieces have the same impact as “Dr. J. Marion Sims” and aim to deliver the same message of rewriting polished history. After viewing “My Country,” freshman Aaron Hong said he emerged with an enlightened viewpoint on America’s monuments.

“The photos in this art exhibit are taken in a way to open the viewers’ eyes on the stain our country has and the false ideals our monuments represent,” Hong said.

By titling her work “My Country,” Faustine reveals how her perception of her country takes on a different meaning than her audience’s country. In her eyes, while the common perception of America is polished with an emphatic sheen of success, she explores who suffered to create it.

“The questions [introduced in Faustine’s art] are not new,” Yuen said. “These are questions that Black artists have long been asking and grappling with.”

Published on September 18, 2023 at 10:46 pm