“UNLOADED”, a traveling exhibition organized by Andrew W. Mellon Professor Susanne Slavick, opens at Bolivar Art Gallery at University Lexington, KY, Jan 20 with a reception at 4:30pm. The show runs through Feb 18.

“UNLOADED” presents a number of perspectives on the image and impact of guns in contemporary culture, though none endorse them as a means to an end. Works by 19 artists touch upon a host of issues surrounding access to and use of firearms, across demographic categories. They examine and represent the role that guns continue to play in our national mythologies, suicide rates, individual and mass murder, domestic violence, and the militarization of civilian life. Gun ownership and control is a divisive topic in this country. The artists in UNLOADED visualize the power of the gun as icon and instrument, the damage it can do and how weapons might be rejected, broken or silenced. Some show the power that guns wield in our daily realities and personal fantasies. Others mourn and resist that power, doing everything they can to take it away, believing there are better ways to resolve conflicts, ensure safety and keep the peace.

Participating artists include international artists and School of Art affiliates: Lauren F. Adams MFa ’07, Nina Berman, Joshua Bienko, Casey Li Brander BFA ’12, Anthony Cervino, Mel Chin, Cathy Colman, Dadpranks (Nina Sarnelle MFA ’13, Isla Hansen MFA ’15, Staff Lauren Goshinski, Kate Hansen MAM ’12, Elina Malkin Des ’05, and Laura Warman), Professor James Duesing, Jessica Fenlon, Vanessa German, Jinshan, Professor Andrew Ellis Johnson, Jennifer Nagle Myers, Adrian Piper, Don Porcella, Professor Devan Shimoyama, Professor Susanne Slavick, Renee Stout BFA ’80, and former Kraus Visiting Professor Stephanie Syjuco.Exhibition website