Here’s a Case for Exploring New Art
How discovering an artist in a foreign country got me thinking about US politics.
One weekend in late June, I got a R.A.R.E. Art email showcasing the work of Gurika Chokheli. His colorful, clever designs include a Tetris animation where, instead of cubes, the blocks are made of animated people having sex. Immediately, I clicked to his R.A.R.E. Art page.
There, an animation of a cow with laser eyes sits below gently waving tentacles and a vomiting “Punk Head.” I was in love and had to learn more about this artist.
Not much information is available about Chokheli online, but I found what I believe to be his Facebook page. Chokheli lives in Georgia and was posting about the rallies that took place in June in protest of a Russian legislator’s visit to the country’s parliament. Police had fired rubber bullets at protesters, two of whom lost their eyesight, prompting more rallies in response to the violence. If it weren’t for Chokheli’s art, I likely wouldn’t have spent time learning about this.
On Chokheli’s Behance page, there’s a graphic he illustrated/animated about how Georgia is “one of the most politically polarized countries in Europe.” It paints a picture eerily similar to the political divide in the US (where I live). I’ll think about his art, and the broader, global context of political polarization, as I watch 2020 election activities unfold.
