Peace Pole for “No More Hiroshimas” a Multimedia exhibit at Burlington College, Vermont-USA

August 1- September 26, 2015

“No More Hiroshimas” is an exhibit by StaciAnne Grove that ran from August 1 – September 26th at Burlington College in Vermont. The show featured graphic design work about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Throughout the entrance to the gallery and gallery itself a river of 1000 peace cranes lead to two central foci: a Peace Pole surrounded by meditation cushions and a display of another 1000 smaller cranes displayed as one large mass. On the walls of the meditation space, people wrote their own messages talking about what peace means to them and their own commitments to building a more peaceful world.

Artist Statement
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

On 6th August 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by US air forces. This was the first time a nuclear weapon had ever been used; it killed up to 180,000 people and destroyed 13 square kilometers of the city. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, killing nearly 70,000 people.

Around half of the fatalities died on the day of the bombing; the remainder were killed in the following months from radiation, burns, and other injuries and illness.

“No More Hiroshimas” does not simply recount the causes and immediate impact of the bombings, but also incorporates a strong message of peace and a call to build a more peace-filled world today. Through graphic design, photography, paper sculptures, and video you will be taken on a historical journey.

Included in the exhibition are activities designed to deepen and personalize the experience. Space to meditate, fold origami cranes, write personal pledges to building a more peaceful world whether on a global or familial scale.

This exhibit was developed in the course of a graphic design course here at Burlington College where we were challenged as students to create work where we “give a damn.”

The Artist
StaciAnne K. Grove is an artist, utilizing words, photography, design, and story to change the world around her. Sometimes her art is tangible in works such as these, or sometimes it takes the form of providing hope and joy to people living with multiple sclerosis or recovering from cancer treatment through dance.   She believes in using art and life to inspire and challenge people.

Staci studied photography at Long Island University with Arthur Leipzig and sociology with Eric Lichten and Rob McAndrews, graduating in 1992. Since then she has continued to expand her toolbox to include graphic design, studying with Robert C. Kirk. She cites the works of Leipzig, Barbara Kruger, John Heartfield, Robert Mapplethorpe and Dale Chihuly as her artistic inspirations.