guns!

[asakiyume]

Guns and art! First was this painting, by the South Korean-born artist Mina Cheon, who also takes on the persona of a North Korean artist, Kim Il Soon. sartorias and I saw this at the Smith College Museum of Art. It's titled "Squirt Water Not Bullets!" The artist paints herself in North Korean military garb and paints her son in duplicate, representing Korea's current split.



And the second was this screenshot from the Sudanese film AKasha, from director Hajooj Kuka.


(image source)

The brief BBC World Service summary says, "Film director Hajooj Kuka has chosen this southern region of his country to tell the story of a love triangle between Adnan, a rebel, his long-suffering girlfriend Lina and the beloved AK47 he calls Nancy."

Soo... I'm guessing we're looking at Lina--and she's holding Nancy, who is looking mighty fetching in that rainbow colored strap.

I think it could feel mighty empowering to team up with someone like Nancy.

The screenshot was intriguing enough that I watched the trailer. If you watch through it, you'll see a moment of magic at 1:36. I'd like to see the movie one day.

Comments

[wayfaringwordhack]

Oh, I love that art and the screenshot. The movie sounds interesting, too.

[asakiyume]

The painting really grabbed my eye--it's so bold and direct. And I get a visceral delight in seeing people who are so often the victims of war--women--being the ones holding the guns. I *know* that it just continues the problem, etc. etc. but as an image it's powerful. And while I don't know how accurate the BBC summary of the movie is, I can definitely imagine a woman thinking of her lover's gun as her rival--whereas I think the gun would be equally happy with either of them.... Now I'm thinking I want to write a little story from the point of view of an AK47.

[osprey_archer]

I have the same reaction to pictures of women holding guns - it's just nice to see the tables turned for once, I guess.

It also fits so well into this story of a love triangle between a woman - her man - and his AK47, Nancy. Clearly a love triangle that would be solved by having the two ladies run off together!

[asakiyume]

Right? I was saying on twitter that that was my preferred conclusion (at least to the film as described in those few sentences).

[sartorias]

That was an intensely compelling trailer. all those beautiful faces, with an overpowering sense of impending tragedy. That moment of magic was quite startling.

[asakiyume]

The movie was filmed **during** the conflict; the planes flying overhead are actual combatant planes. This is the human spirit: to want art, humor, magic, even [ETA: especially?] in a war zone.

[sartorias]

Wow. And yes, about the human spirit. As exemplified in the heart-wrenchingly beautiful poetry created by so many young Englishmen during WW I.

[asakiyume]

Exactly

[osprey_archer]

I love the painting, too. It's so direct and striking and in a way I think it speaks to the unity of the currently divided Korea: by putting on North Korean clothes, she and her son look just like North Korean propaganda images, which shows that the differences are - external, in a way? (I mean, of course they run deeper than just clothes - but like the image of the woman with the gun, the image is powerful even if not exactly accurate.)

I read a really interesting article recently about North Korean's love of the South Korean Choco Pie, here, which I think points to the same basic similarity. (Although indeed, who would not love a choco pie? I want to try one now. If only humans could come together based on our shared love of sweets we could probably end war tomorrow.)

[asakiyume]

I'm going to read the article next but I just wanted to say a hard YES to what you say about a love of choco pie and to that approach generally. I feel as lines of conflict deepen or war approaches, or in a prolonged period of enmity, people's behaviors and actions are pushed into "the Way of Conflict"--to make a pseudo Zen phrase (you know, like the Way of the Warrior or the Way of Tea--"Way" as in the path, the road,道--the Dao/Tao of Daoism/Taoism), and doing what comes naturally to us just takes us further down that road. Eventually we come out the other side but it's like surviving a hurricane. If we could avoid the hurricane altogether? Or make it just brush us instead of pass directly overhead? And honestly, things like a shared love of sweets? I think that's part of the Way of Reconciliation/Unity/Healing.

[minoanmiss]

You deserve a much longer comment than this, but I really love the first piece of atr.

[asakiyume]

This comment is perfect--so glad you reacted to the painting the same way I did!