FERGUSON, Mo. – "Initially they weren't even images I was going to share," said graphics artist Howard Barry, describing the 50 pieces of Ferguson-inspired artwork he's created.
He said his paintings and graphics are a way for the Northwoods resident to cope with the events unfolding in Ferguson.
"This is kind of like my personal therapy that I'm sharing with everybody because I'm processing my thoughts on how I'm looking at it," he said.
In the beginning, Barry painted water color images from Ferguson, like a lone protester surrounded by clouds of tear gas. Eventually, the newspaper headlines in the St. Louis American caught his attention.
He noticed there was page after page of Ferguson coverage, and he started painting images on the newspaper pages. Each piece of artwork contained the hashtag "Ferguson."
"The hashtag 'Ferguson' started to connect all of these pieces together and show that it was a body of work," Barry said. "All this is a narrative."
It's a narrative that's intense and in your face such as the protester confronting several police officers wearing protective face shields, or a mourning Michael Brown Sr. with a huge tear running down his cheek, or the watercolor image of Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson giving a hug, metaphorically wrapping his arms around a city in turmoil.
"There's a tendency to think it's us against them and the police are the bad guys," Barry said, "but even with the images of like Captain Ron, I don't want to be one-sided where I'm just saying the police are messing up, because there are examples of police doing good every day, and so I want to capture the human side of it."
Barry seems amazed that Ferguson has had such a profound impact on his art.
"This allows me to say what I need to say without being interrupted or be interpreted the wrong way. It lets me get it out."
Barry's artwork can be seen on his Facebook page.
Beginning October 17, Barry will join more than 100 artists displaying Ferguson-inspired artwork in the "Hands Up, Don't Shoot: Artists Respond" exhibition at 14 different venues in the St. Louis area.
