Some Assembly Required: Judi Weisbart Takes on the World at Art & Soul

The world is a complicated place. Wars, environmental crises, inequality, political divisions. (Please tell me you voted this past Tuesday…) There are days when the whole thing seems to be coming apart at the seams.

Judi Weisbart has decided to put a few pieces together.

On November 12, the Santa Barbara artist will unveil World Series at Art & Soul Gallery, an exhibition of 15 assemblage sculptures exploring the issues that shape our shared existence. Using familiar objects, unexpected combinations, and a healthy dose of symbolism, Weisbart transforms some of humanity’s largest problems into works of art that can be examined from every angle.

The problems themselves remain considerably harder to solve.

But sometimes, figuring out how the pieces fit together is a good place to start.

Weisbart began developing the sculptures in the 1990s, confronting subjects ranging from poverty and human rights to environmental preservation, conflict, and social justice. Nearly three decades later, the works have lost remarkably little of their relevance.

One might have hoped humanity would have made a little more progress by now.

Rather than offering easy answers, Weisbart uses assemblage, the artistic practice of bringing disparate objects together, to make complex concerns tangible. Familiar materials acquire unfamiliar meanings, inviting viewers to reconsider subjects they may have encountered a thousand times in the headlines.

“Art is one of the ways we speak to each other about the issues for which we feel passionate concern. It is our universal language,” Weisbart says.

And she has quite a lot to say.

The exhibition’s 15 sculptures each address a different global challenge, but their underlying message is shared. Whatever our differences in geography, culture, or circumstance, we inhabit the same planet. Its problems have a habit of crossing borders, regardless of how carefully those borders are drawn.

Weisbart is also making sure the conversation extends beyond the gallery.

Each sculpture has been paired with a nonprofit organization whose work connects to its subject matter. The participating groups represent a cross-section of Santa Barbara’s community, including CALM, Women’s Economic Ventures, Community Environmental Council, New Beginnings, Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Direct Relief, and Lotusland.

Montecito Journal is also among the 15 participating organizations, alongside Legal Aid, Planned Parenthood, Santa Barbara Zoo, the Anti-Defamation League, United Nations Association, and the Multi Faith Harmony Coalition.

A percentage of artwork sales will benefit the participating nonprofits, creating a connection between the concerns represented in the sculptures and the organizations working to address them.

And Weisbart has assembled another project from the exhibition’s ideas.

Birth of Reason, a 15-episode multimedia storytelling initiative developed by Weisbart and created in large part by Ciara Barnes, expands upon the sculptures through interviews, artist commentary, and personal stories. Co-produced and hosted by Belle Hahn, the series features conversations with artists, activists, educators, nonprofit leaders, and others engaged with the issues.

Its Incredible Humans and Big Little Voices features bring together people working toward change and younger generations who will inherit the consequences of today’s decisions.

Because while the sculptures began taking shape decades ago, the questions they raise belong just as much to the future.

For Weisbart, whose artistic practice has long centered on peace, compassion, and social responsibility, the exhibition is an opportunity to turn concern into conversation, and perhaps conversation into action.

“My work is for social justice, peace, compassion and beauty,” she says. “This is the focus of my life’s work.”

Fifteen sculptures. Fifteen challenges. One rather complicated planet.

Putting it all together may require a few extra hands.  

World Series opens Thursday, November 12, with a public reception from 5 to 7 pm at 

Art & Soul Gallery. For more information, visit artandsoulsb.com or birthofreason.com