The first year I entered the field as an art teacher in a Massachusetts high school was the same year that on December 14, 2012, a gunman shot and killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. In the ten year period following this tragedy (Jan 2013 - Dec 2022 ), incidents of K-12 school shootings in the US have steadily increased, from 34 in 2013 to 302 in 2022; totaling 1,132 incidents. There were 1,068 victims (257 killed and 812 wounded).
As an educator and a teacher-of-teachers, I am constantly aware of the threat of violence in schools. At the start of every school year, classroom teachers are trained to protect themselves and their students. We teach our students to be alert and to speak up if they “see something” and lead them in the important FBI messaging to “run, hide, fight” when faced with a threat.
Run. Hide. Fight. Copy That.
I invite the viewer to pause and consider the information between the lines, that which is at the front of mind for teachers as they engage students through teaching and learning. Shell casings dotting the i’s and marking the end of sentences are a visual reminder of a very real threat.
Run.Hide.Fight. 2013 - Run.Hide.Fight 2022
Repetition is used to emphasize that school shootings are not stopping. Factual data is represented through the symbolic “gold star” at the top of student work. Each shell casing represents between 1-25 school shooting incidents at a K-12 school in the USA.
Data source:
Riedman, David (2022). K-12 School Shooting Database
Run.Hide.Fight.Copy That. 2022
(2022) 36" x 48", chalkboard paint, marker, and shell casings on wood panel
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Run.Hide.Fight.Copy That. 2022 (detail)
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