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Theory/Theorist: Cognitivism/Realism
Tamara Duran
November 5, 2015
Al Farrows Divine Ammunition at the Crocker Art Museum shows sculptures
devotional objects. All of which are made out of bullets, bullet shells, Uzi parts, guns, and
other forms of ammunition along with some containing human bones. Farrows sculptures
are surprisingly realistic to the point where a person could identify what structure he had
modeled a piece after. The materials used and the message of his artwork make for a
chilling yet beautiful exhibit. This exhibit is meant to convey a message to people and to
cause discussion about it. His exhibit leads him to fall under cognitivism but also seeing
how realistic his work is it falls under realism as well. All of this plays a significant role
in being able to show this to a particular group of students along with teaching them and
having them engage in discussions about this exhibit which shall all be expanded upon
To start the exhibit shows many different religious structures and devotional
realistic-looking structure that is highly detailed. His initial inspiration for Divine
Ammunition had come from visiting the crypt of the bascilica of San Lorenzo in
Florence, Italy in 1995. While there he had seen a display of reliquaries that preserved the
bones of saints. After viewing this he began working on the sculptures that became the
exhibit Divine Ammunition. Farrow had spent much time planning out each piece and
took a great amount of time working on it. Farrow had sketched out architectural plans
and had done research for a basis for each structure. One of the first sculptures he had
made after visiting the crypt was the Trigger Finger of Sainto Guerro which is a
There are fifteen different variations of the Trigger Finger of Sainto Guerro
that the artist has made. These sculptures represent the imaginary Saint of Warfare he had
made up and they bring a greater link between religion and war. There are also other
pieces in the exhibit that have Sainto Guerro part of them, such as the Skull of Sainto
Guerro, the Humerus of Sainto Guerro, and the Jawbone of Sainto Guerro. All of the
sculptures that have the Sainto Guerro have some sort of bone/bone fragment that
represents the saint. Other sculptures also contain bones and show the link between
The sculpture called the Cathedral or The Spine and Tooth of Sainto Guerro
is made of bullets, guns, glass, shot, steel, bone, and antique textiles. This sculpture
resembles the Gothic cathedrals in Europe; more specifically the St. Finbarrs Cathedral
from the entrance and the Notre Dame Cathedral from the back. It impressively shows
great detail and maintains a skeletal look that was popular in the Gothic era. One of the
other sculptures called Bombed Mosque is made of guns, gun parts, bullets, shell
casings, steel, brass and resembles part of the Al Fateh mosque. At first look it looks like
an ordinary mosque but when seen from the back the part of the structure looks like it
was destroyed. Another sculpture to talk about is the Synagogue V that is made of guns,
gun parts, steel, bullets, shell casings, lead shots, and glass. This one is actually modeled
after the Great Synagogue of Brussels where as the other sculptures that were mentioned
only bare a similarity to the structures that were named. The similarities from the
structures and the sculptures or the structures they were modeled after show how realism
(Bombed Mosque)
From what was taught in class about realism was that its a theory of art that
holds a good work of art and allows the viewer to recognize what it is. Farrow easily does
this with his sculptures by how he sketched them out beforehand and had done a vast
amount of research before coming out with the final product of the sculpture. From the
brief overview about realism in the class readings it mentions how Plato and Aristotle
would feel about works of realism. For Farrows work Plato would not care for it since
does not care for realism but would consider it to be emotionally powerful because of
what its trying to convey. Aristotle on the other hand would possibly accept this because
of how he is more accepting of the arts compared to Plato and how it imitates religious
structures and devotional objects. This can be better confirmed by book where it says that
For Aristotle, reality consists of the natural world that we sense (Barrett p.22). Farrow is
able to grasp this with his work with how religion and war have affected the world around
us. He is able to maintain his message while still keeping his work realistic.
Farrow is trying to get out his message with his sculptures on how war and
religion or violence and spirituality from history up to the present seem to correlate.
When looking into history many different battles, wars, and other conflicts have been
done in the name of God or Gods. This goes for all religions, not just any one religion.
Some examples that can be named is the Crusades when some of the knights who were
part of it took advantage of their position and looted saying it was in the name of the lord.
Another example that can be named is some of the most recent events, such as 9/11 and
the currently the attacks in Paris on November 13th. These attacks were done by terrorists
who claim to do these things for different reasons, one of them being in the name of their
religion. With Farrows sculptures he addresses this issue but doesnt focus on just one
religion, hes mindful of including multiple religions in this exhibit since most have had
some sort of conflict in the past or present. This message is what is able to relate him to
cognitivism.
The readings from class taught that cognitivism was to teach us about the art
piece and to teach us the aesthetic value of it. A quote from Eileen John from the book
says that Many works of art, in order to be appreciated and enjoyed as art, call out for
Ammunition calls out for people to try and understand it. Its not meant to merely look
pretty but to convey a message about religion and how it has been used to justify what
they are doing when it comes to conflicts, battles, wars, etc. This in turn is able to teach
people about the dangers of using something as an excuse to justify what they are doing
in to order to make it okay in their mind. Farrow clearly shows this message/teaching in
his exhibit but it is a matter of the viewer learning this and applying it. Though Divine
and war. As for who would be able to understand this message is something else to
further discuss.
Divine Ammunition is overall a controversial exhibit that not all people can
comprehend. Children would not be able to understand it and some adults would either
ignore it, be offended by it, or also wouldnt be able to understand it. Though the age
group to best teach it to would be anywhere from high school and above. Students in high
school would be better to try and teach this to for they may have a better understanding of
the exhibit compared to a middle school or elementary school students. They would also
be slightly more experienced when it comes to learning and analyzing art. There would
Ammunition the students would have to use their artistic perception for his work when
viewing it. Have them look around the exhibit and then have them identify any visual
details that about any of the sculptures. Then have them analyze the meaning of the
exhibit and how the details and materials used for the sculptures influence the how people
pick up meaning. After have the student speak about their thoughts and feelings about Al
Farrows work. If after looking around and the students are unable to say anything about
his work ask them questions like why is this considered art? What is the subject of the
exhibit? What stands out the most about the sculptures? What are the materials that were
used? Questions like these should start a discussion about the artist and his sculptures.
Next to follow would understanding the historical and/or cultural context of the exhibit.
difficult since it gets more into politics and religion for Al Farrows exhibit. Though to
simplify it ask what the students may know about how religion has come into the
equation when it comes to conflicts, battles and wars in the past. Also ask how it has
come into it in the present as well and how politics may relate to all of this. If the students
may not know much about it then it would be the best time to teach them about this. After
either discussing/answering the questions or teaching them about how religion and war
have correlated in the past and the present have them relate it to Farrows exhibit and
what the purpose of it is. Following this they should be able to figure out the aesthetic
valuing of it.
In aesthetic valuing they should be able to now derive the meaning of the
exhibit. Students should be able to understand how things such as beliefs and social,
meaning/message of the exhibit. They should be able to voice their own opinions about
the sculptures and then listen to other students opinions about it as well. They should
consider what their fellow classmates have to say about it and see it it may change their
opinion/point of view. Going through the process of artistic perception, understanding the
historical/cultural context, and using aesthetic valuing would be the most beneficial way
correlated in the past and present because people used religion as a way of justifying their
actions. Not all people will understand the message from this exhibit and some may find
it offensive but it gets its point across. Farrow put much time and detail into each piece
and made sure not to exclude any one religion in this exhibit. He made sure to be
mindful, discriminating, and probing of all as said in description of this exhibit provided
Barrett, Terry. Why Is That Art?. Second Edition. Oxford, New York. Oxford University
https://www.crockerartmuseum.org/exhibitions/divine-ammunition
Dalkey, Victoria. Art review: Divine Ammuntion by Al Farrow at the Crocker. The
http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article41705343.html