Art and the Constitution
By Christopher Smith
The 2nd annual Constitution Day Celebration and Art Exhibit will be held at HBC on September 17th. The celebration and exhibit is sponsored by the ACC Center for Public Policy and Political Studies (CPPP) along with the Social and Behavioral Sciences Division and the Arts and Humanities Division.
“The art and the poetry last year caught the attention of people and stirred political debate,” said Lyman Grant, Dean of the Arts and Humanities Division. “It offended people. It enlivened people. And it did essentially what any discussion of the Constitution should do.”
Grant hopes that this year’s art exhibit will have the same effect. The call for entries in the diverse categories of 2–D art (which includes painting, drawing, printmaking, and photography), 3–D art, poetry, fiction, political cartoon, personal essay and research essay went out in early October of last year. First, second and third place prizes of $200, $100, and $50 respectively will be given out for each category. Last year the CPPP awarded over $1,000 in prize money and this the Center expects to award over $2,000.
The art work and the writing submissions have been judged and they will be on display in the HBC lobby from September 8th to the 30th, says Brent Baggett, Art Studios and Exhibit Coordinator for ACC. This year Jean Graham, Art in Public Places Coordinator for the city of Austin, was asked to judge the 2– and 3–D art. “We asked her to award four places for 2–D work and four places for 3–D work, that’s first, second, third and honorable mention for each category,” said Baggett. The winners for the art and literary competitions will be announced at the reception held at HBC September 17th from 6 to 8 pm.
Last year’s art exhibit stirred up controversy and debate as many of the pieces had to do with the war in Iraq. Peck Young, Director of the CPPP, hopes this year’s art exhibit does the same. Young said that he was interested in working with the Arts and Humanities Division to get ’people with talent thinking about issues dealing with the Constitution in terms of their talent.’ Along with the art exhibit the CPPP is also holding a debate and discussion of issues on September 23rd at LBJ Auditorium. The keynote speaker this year will be Norma Cantú. Students are invited to come to the debate ready to discuss issues dealing with the Constitution and how it matters in daily life. “I want people to come away with an awareness that the Constitution is a living and dynamic document,” said Young of the purpose of the many Constitution Day events. “It is part of your life. It isn”t just something for old men in powdered wigs to debate or smart men to argue about in Washington. It is important to you in your daily life.”
