The Guerrilla Girls asks,"What's the difference between a prisoner of war and a homelessness person?" A homeless person sleeps on hard concrete every night. They have to fight to stay warm and safe at night. Also they wear the same outfit for many days until they can get new ones. A homeless person is a prisoner of war in their own city. Many people do not understand why people become homeless; it could be because the person is out of work or their rent is to high to pay. Today, the housing market has increased, but a persons salaries did not. But artists like Krysztof Wodiczko, Michael Rakowitz, N55, and Andres Serano changes poor people and fortunate people lives with their projects.
People who lose their home might use their car for shelter. Wodiczko was able to create the Homeless Vehicle which was "an instrument of survival for urban nomads"(26). He created this vehicle with a shopping cart as a shelter so the unfortunate do not have to stay so the unfortunate do not have to stay in one place. Similar to Wodiczko project, his former student, Rakowitz created the paraSITE. This project is "Produced from plastic bags and tape and attached to air vents on buildings"(34). Heat is one of the major problems homeless people have to deal with. Rakowitz project kills two birds with one. Instead of the heat coming out the through the vents going out into the air he attaches plastic bags to the open air vent. Both Wodickzo and Rakowitz used simple materials to help many in need.
A studio apartment in Manhattan may cost up to $3,000. This same $3,000 you pay every month could be used as a down payment to a payment for people who does not have to worry about becoming homeless because you are not able to pay. The Snail Shell System was a mobile home shaped like a wheel "equipped with air intake valves,... a kitchen pan, kettle, alcohol burner and plastic bags, a pump and a toilet"(60). Why pay for a small apartment you probably are struggling to pay. N55 shows us that you can use what you have to create something beneficial to help others.
An English idiom, a "Picture paints a thousand words." Serano went around New York City streets photographing destitute people he saw. The pictures show their struggles when living on the streets. But then he decided to change the way he captured a picture. According to Art about poverty and Homelessness, he wanted to focus "on personal connectivity and interaction directly." Serano wanted to get to know them and gain trust from the less fortunate. People who joined this movement felt "it is a blessing when someone takes time to interact with them and to acknowledge them as not being invisible." Many businessmen and businesswomen walk pass the homeless people as if they are not human beings and decided to become homeless. Serano allows us to think about ways we can help the homeless more rather than into their cup.
Activism in art and political activism has many similarities. Political activism is a large group coming together marching down streets with signs, chanting for change. In "Protest tackles homelessness", by Broke-Ass Stuart, today in San Francisco people protested to save the homeless people after "when Hizzoner Ed Lee said the ''homeless have to leave" for the Super Bowl". San Francisco is ignoring their own people. However, art activism is either a artist or artists using objects to display a message. For example, these Wodickzo, Rakowitz, N55, and Serano used their passion for art to design either a mobile or photographs to display the simple necessities they do not have. The homeless are people too. Many people become homeless due to losing their home, family issues or become mentally ill. These artists are able to share their stories with their creations. It will only grow if we as citizens continue to walk pass them.
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