Doni Silver Simons Contributes Panel to 'Artists' Tower of Protest'

Los Angeles-based painter, performance and installation artist Doni Silver Simons has contributed a panel to the .

Originally designed by sculptor Mark di Suvero, the 58-foot steel tetrahedron tower surrounded by hundreds of art panels was erected on a lot on the corner of Sunset and La Cienega boulevards in 1969 as a symbol of collective dissent against the Vietnam War.

The restaging by LA><ART and the Getty Research Institute as part of the Pacific Standard Time public exposition across Southern California is meant to spark a dialogue about the role of arts activism today, and will be up through March. Silver Simons’ panel was inspired by her interactive work, Hineni: I Am Here, commissioned by Jewish World Watch (JWW).
 
For the panel, Silver Simons superimposed three different images on a metal plate—the first, her painting From the Archives; the second, a photograph of a “prayer drawing” created by a young Congolese victim of violent crime; and the third, an inscribtion written by a Congolese woman that translates as: “G-d protect the footprint [the people] of the world.”

“Although the actions of protest change us—remaining embedded in our history and future identity—the sense of urgency dissipates. Protests become ‘old news’ and fade—sadly, often before the problems are resolved.”

Silver Simons has three pieces featured in the Pacific Standard Time group exhibition Breaking In Two: A Provocative Vision of Motherhood at the Arena 1 Gallery at Santa Monica Art Studios through April 14. She will be participating in a free walk-through of the exhibition with curator Bruria Finkel this Sunday, Feb. 26, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.