Pictures: Worth a Thousand Words?

Figure 1: “Creative Gun”, by Mark Fitz. Image by Saatchi Online via WordPress.

Figure 2: the artist, Mark Fitz’s profile picture on his Saatchi account. Fitz is a Dublin-based designer whose work “explores the relationship between life and love and pop and shit.” Image by Mark Fitz via Saatchi.

The image above, first and foremost, argues that art––and the implements used to create it––are just as deadly as any firearm. The artist likens crayons to bullets, color to punctuation; art can evoke emotions in its audience more effectively than a speech, just as actions speak louder than words. The crayons themselves make a statement as few other drawing implements could: synonymous with childhood and amateur art, crayons are consistently underestimated. It is no mistake that the artist chose crayons over markers or colored pencils; these tools, in particular, serve to amplify the message that even the most unassuming methods of creation can be deadly tools. That is, after all, the central message: creation is warfare. There are tools in the “gun” that are not immediately related to art, such as the staple gun and the boxcutter. What all of the pieces do have in common, however, is that they permit the act of creation, whether it be altering preexisting matter or generating something completely new. There is a reason many religions declare creation to be divine; the ability to invent and alter our environment in intricate ways is perhaps one of the things that makes us human. This image argues, both literally and technically, that art and its tools are what make weapons, in addition to being weapons themselves. Yes, the “gun” in the image is composed of many tools arranged together…but it is an artist that sits at a drafting table and helps engineers and scientists design literal weapons. All creation, for peace and for war, begins with artists.