Hands Up , Don ’ t Shoot ( 1 ) © Linda Lighton , 2016 . Courtesy of EG Schempf .
Lighton tells me , “ Four months after this shooting , Republican lawmakers named the colt revolver — which is the gun that shot her — the state gun . Now , there are seven states with state guns . Can you imagine your child painting the state bird , the state flower , the
state gun ?”
The pro gun-rights Arizona Citizens Defense league subsequently tried to pass the Giffords-Zimmerman Act to provide firearms and training to members of Congress . Reducing gun violence by introducing more guns into the equation raises the questions : What is the relationship between violence and heroism ? What does America see as heroic ?
An armed bystander in the Giffords shooting — who is now lauded as a hero for subduing the gunman — was a click away from shooting an innocent man he believed to be the killer . The fatal risk of introducing more guns into a situation blurs the line between heroism and violence . Lighton says , “ I don ’ t think people are heroes for killing people — I never have .”
Lighton ’ s sculptures engage people visually rather than overtly representing an opinion on gun culture . This ambiguity has led audiences to read her work in one of two ways : as a condemnation , or as glorification . Those who read her work as a critique of weapons are confronted to address the conversation and be held responsible for American values . Those who glean a sense of pride and devotion from the sculptures are lured into a conversation with Lighton herself . By inciting a dialogue on gun culture in the gallery space , Lighton has gotten the opportunity to talk people out of owning guns in the first place . The unconventional setting allows both opinions to enter , perhaps knowingly or unknowingly , and engage with the art and artist without a premeditated political agenda .
The excessive materiality in her work reflects the sheer fact that there are more guns than people in the United States , and that the
United States has the most guns per capita in the world . Lighton gives weight to these statistics by devoting months — sometimes even years — to creating
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