Maria Niro’s The Art of Un-War follows artist Krzysztof Wodiczko and his socially conscious form of art. Wodiczko’s work often intersects with the military and war, and the sixty-minute documentary details the issues he tackles through his pieces.
The documentary does a great job of tackling the artist’s work, and how it addresses themes of displacement, trauma, and—as the title suggests—war. It is a theme that has marked Wodiczko since birth since he was born in 1943 during the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. The film works remarkably well in showing how creatives can use their abilities in order to make a legitimate impact in the world.
We see several pieces of what is called “Interrogative Design:” a blend of art and technology used to highlight real social issues. One striking moment is when we see his Abraham Lincoln War Veteran Projection in Union Square. Wodiczko projects the images and voices of veterans from 20th and 21st-century wars onto the President. The artist combines the various stories of loss and abandonment related to these wars with his own trauma in order to highlight the cost of war many choose to ignore. It is emblematic of Wodiczko’s mission as an artist. He simply isn’t content with the presentation. It has to mean something.
You see the evolution of Wodiczko’s pieces from his first in 1968 to one of his most ambitious projects: a proposal to transform the Arc de Triomphe war monument into a site for peacekeeping and activism. Narrated by the artist himself, The Art of Un-War intimately displays Wodiczko’s compelling journey to examine war monuments throughout the world. This educational documentary would work well in academic libraries for contemporary art students, art history students, and architecture students.