August 11, 2009
Birmingham artist Walton Creel offered a demonstration of his work, De-Weaponizing the Gun at a Sumter County camp house. The public was invited to join the artist at this community event.
Creel’s series renders iconic images from nature with a .22 caliber rifle. The pointillist “drawings,” which include a deer, a wren, and an owl, among others, are presented on four by six foot painted aluminum panels. Creel states that his recent work is meant “to manipulate the gun into a tool of creation.” The irony of the dynamic images bring both humor and weight to Creel’s subject matter.
The demonstration piece was donated to the Coleman Center for the Arts’ Inda Hightower Artist-in-Residence Facility. The activity is a precursor to Creel’s gallery exhibition and paintball event. His collaboration with the CCA and Sumter County community has focussed on creative collaborations and playful exchanges with community members.