When Scott Anderson helped organize the "Farewell to the Wasteland" exhibition, he said he believed art should be more than decoration.
"Art's higher calling is to create dialogue and to ask questions," Anderson, assistant professor of art at Ball State University said.
The exhibit opened in the Atrium Art Gallery on Sept. 30 and will run until Election Day. The gallery is in conjunction with many other art galleries across the U.S. as a part of the coalition "Art of Democracy".
The exhibit contains an array of works using many mediums, all focused on the sociopolitical issues of the past eight years.
The artwork features work by artists from Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky, in addition to a few artists from outside the Midwest.
Anderson said he hopes the gallery and others like it will bolster informed participation in American politics.
"Only 12 percent of the country thinks we're heading in the right direction," Anderson said. "The work in this gallery is representative of the unrest in the country today."
Pamela Stults, a junior painting major at Ball State with a piece in the exhibit said she thinks; although some focus has been lost on some issues people are still thinking about them.
"It's refreshing to see that there are other artists who are concerned about the last eight years of our political leadership," Stults said. "I think it's really easy for people to lose sight of issues that are still affecting them."
The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m Tuesday through Friday, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. There will be a closing ceremony Nov. 4, which will include the auctioning of pieces of the artwork "Cuneiform Piece" by artist Elmer Craig.
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