Visualizing the COVID-19 Tragedy - 360 | National Geographic

TL;DR

Using art to make the devastatingly large number of COVID-19 deaths in America comprehensible, an artist creates a memorial with personalized flags, representing the grief of families, communities, and the medical community.

Transcript

as a visual artist i couldn't let this happen when words go unheard and numbers get too large so they're easy to dismiss art has to take the lead and so i wanted to use art to make the number comprehensible white is important white is the color of innocence and all of these people if there's one thing they had in common none of them wanted to die f... Read More

Key Insights

• 🥰 Art has the power to make overwhelming numbers and tragedies more comprehensible.
• 👾 Personalization through flags and shared stories helps create a space for collective grief and healing.
• 🌸 The daily changing of the billboard serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing loss and the need for change.
• 😷 The memorial represents the grief of not only families but also communities and the medical community.
• ❓ The expanding size of the memorial reflects the escalating death toll and the magnitude of the tragedy.
• 😀 The artist's intention is to provoke a reevaluation of what it means to be an American in the face of such a profound event.
• 😒 The use of white as the color of innocence symbolizes the shared desire for none of the victims to have died from the virus.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does the artist use art to make the number of COVID-19 deaths understandable?

The artist creates a memorial with personalized flags, allowing people to share their stories and grief, transforming the numbers into tangible representations of individual lives lost.

Q: What does each flag in the memorial represent?

Each flag represents the immense grief of the family, neighbors, co-workers, and the medical community involved in trying to save the person's life. It serves as a powerful reminder of the tragedy.

Q: How does changing the billboard daily affect the artist?

Changing the billboard daily to reflect the current death toll is emotionally challenging for the artist. It serves as a sad reminder of the ongoing loss and reinforces the need for change.

Q: What message does the artist want people to take away from the memorial?

The artist hopes to convey the importance of changing as Americans and not letting such a tragedy happen again. It prompts a reconsideration of what it means to be an American.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The artist uses art to make the large number of COVID-19 deaths understandable and personalizes it with flags representing each person's grief.

• The memorial allows people to share their stories and grief, creating a space for collective healing.

• Changing the billboard daily with the death toll serves as a sad reminder of the ongoing tragedy.