The Art of Inspiration Project

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      We live in an increasingly polarized world. Social media and mainstream news amplify this polarization through the presentation of sensationalized news stories designed to offend and infuriate the opposition, and reinforce partisan positions of their viewers.  Social media, in particular, drives polarization through echo chamber style presentation of one-sided news and ideas. The result is that people worldwide are moving further and further apart in their opinions based on what is predominately over-hyped sensationalism. The fact is that we, as human beings, have far more in common with each other than we have differences. The Art of Inspiration Project was created as a way to use my unique brand of abstracted word art to highlight values and ideals that we all have in common. This exposition challenges the viewers to visualize how they think people of different ethnicities, political affiliations, religions, or living in different countries in the world might view these words. Will these words mean the same to them as they do to you? Hopefully, the end result will be a fresh realization of our shared humanity and a basis from which we can engage each other in a more tolerant and respectful way. Once we realize that we all share the same basic principles, differences in opinion about politics, race, religion, social constructs, and matters of national origin can be calmly discussed and addressed in a more positive and productive manner. The alternative is further polarization, social unrest, and eventually, civil war.