Thinking Like an Artist-Researcher about War
| DOI | 10.1177/0305829816684261 |
| Date | 01 January 2017 |
| Published date | 01 January 2017 |
| Author | Jill Gibbon,Christine Sylvester |
| Subject Matter | Forum: The Aesthetic Turn at 15 |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0305829816684261
Millennium: Journal of
International Studies
2017, Vol. 45(2) 249 –257
© The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0305829816684261
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1. Karl Marx, Capital, Volume 1, 1867. Available at: http://web.stanford.edu/~davies/
Symbsys100Spring0708/Marx-Commodity-Fetishism.pdf.
Thinking Like an Artist-
Researcher about War
Jill Gibbon
Leeds Beckett University, UK
Christine Sylvester
University of Connecticut, USA
Affiliate, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Keywords
war, arms fairs, aesthetics, dada, art, war drawings
A series of sketchbooks appear in Figure 1. They have been drawn in arms fairs in
London and Paris. The halls are crowded – a sea of men and occasional women in pin-
striped suits. On show is a huge array of military equipment and security services.
Teargas canisters are arranged in glass cabinets, missiles glint under spotlights, guns are
lined up to try out against painted targets, tank barrels are raised. There are also body
parts, not the casualties of war – they are nowhere to be seen – but displays of gloves,
boots, and gasmasks. Here, military equipment ‘steps forth as a commodity, it is changed
into something transcendent.’1 A bomb becomes an object of exchange, a focus for fan-
tasies and profit. Deals are facilitated with lavish hospitality. Hostesses weave through
the traders, politicians and clients offering pretzels, wine, and lipstick smiles. A string
quartet plays Mozart from the back of a military truck. Alliances are formed with a hand-
shake, backslap, and glass of champagne.
The polite rituals hide a corrupt trade. Arms are sold to repressive regimes, authoritar-
ian states, and countries engaged in aggressive wars. These deals are not illicit but
actively promoted by Western governments. The UK has sanctioned £2.8 billion worth
Corresponding author:
Christine Sylvester, Department of Political Science, University of Connecticut, Oak Hall, 365 Fairfield Way,
Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
Email: christine.sylvester@uconn.edu
684261MIL0010.1177/0305829816684261Millennium: Journal of International StudiesGibbon and Sylvester
research-article2016
Forum: The Aesthetic Turn at 15
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