Terrorist attacks in the past few weeks in France have sparked numerous protests across the world and the country. These protests have taken a variety of forms and have been carried out by many different groups of people.

Artists in Syracuse have responded to the attacks as well, through their artwork.

This spring, studio John 746, located at 746 N. Salina St. in downtown Syracuse, is opening its doors to patrons and artists alike, encouraging them to paint their own interpretation of the Prophet Muhammad in light of recent terrorist attacks in both France and Belgium. Beginning last week and continuing on until May, paintings produced will be hung in the studio or in the front window of the store.

On Jan. 7, masked gunmen attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical French magazine that published drawings of the Prophet Muhammad.

“Paint or sketch your 15 minute version of the Prophet Muhammad for us. The show starts on 1/11/15 and continues every day until they kill me or Islam submits to ART!” reads the event description on Facebook. The formal title of the event was “The Prophet Painting Provocation Party.”

Gian Francesco Sgromo, the owner of John 746, said his art concerning the Prophet Muhammad, a part of his greater manifesto of becoming a “comrade co-owner” of the world, promotes outspokenness and freedom in the wake of oppression and terrorism. His work mirrors that of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonist, who was killed in a terror attack in Paris.

The goal of the exhibit is to promote freedom of speech as well as protest what is happening around the world, Sgromo added.

Instead of creating publicity, Sgromo said he wants the exhibit to create conversation about political art and the modern-day clashes tied to religion.

“I would like people to consider (the exhibit) as a sophisticated dialectic, a metaphor,” Sgromo said. “We may be doing something that may be controversial, but it is only considered controversial to narrow-minded (people).”

Sgromo is a graduate of Syracuse University and the creator of much of the work shown in the studio. Though he graduated with a degree in physics, Sgromo worked as a contractor for most of his life until 2007, when he said he realized his passion for controversial art.

Sgromo said he got the idea for the exhibit after extensively researching the attacks in Europe and evaluating his own reaction to the event.

“Anybody who is even remotely calling themselves an artist makes some kind of statement about what happened in Paris,” Sgromo said.

Most of the artwork created so far for the exhibit, along with most of Sgromo’s work over the past eight years, is graffiti-style. Each piece contains different depictions of the prophet, alongside other Islamic symbols, he said.

“Whatever you believe in, act on it. Do that action. But make sure that it is something you would want done to you,” Sgromo added.

Artwork, for many years, has been a method for protesting political actions. Jerome Witkin, professor of art, design and transmedia at SU, explains that political art is a nonviolent attack on terrorism.

“To stand up to humorless totalitarians is to defeat them,” Witkin said. “Their courage to put up these images makes them martyrs of free speech.

Though graffiti was first considered to be a corrupt activity, it has evolved into a political statement that many artists utilize to protest certain activities out of their control, Witkin said.

“Graffiti is the only voice people have,” he said, “be it a small voice.”

Published on January 21, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Hanna: hrhorvat@syr.edu