July 12, 2010 issue
Peace art seeks new home in capital
By Celeste Kennel-Shank Mennonite Weekly ReviewWASHINGTON — A sculpture with a message against gun violence once stood near the city courts and police headquarters.
Richard C. Daniels, attorney for Inter-Church, a ministry of Myron and Esther Augsburger of Harrisonburg, Va., explains how he and Esther Augsburger are looking for a new location in Washington for her sculpture “Guns into Plowshares.” The artwork currently sits on its side in a fenced-in area out of public view in a far corner of the city. — Photo by Celeste Kennel-Shank/MWR
Now it’s in a far corner of the city collecting rust.
The Metropolitan Police Department commissioned the work, “Guns into Plowshares,” by Esther Augsburger, a Mennonite artist, and her son, Michael, to stand as a memorial to shooting victims and those who lay down their guns.
“It speaks of the public need for advocacy for peace,” said Richard C. Daniels, an attorney representing Inter-Church, a ministry support organization of Augsburger and her husband, Myron. “Its very presence gives a voice to the need to end gun violence.”
For “Guns into Plowshares,” Esther and Michael Augsburger welded 3,000 disabled handguns collected in a buyback program onto a 16-by-19-foot piece of metal resembling a plow blade.
The sculpture stood in Judiciary Square from 1997 until sometime before 2008. It was replaced with a fountain during a renovation and expansion of the D.C. Historic Courthouse and grounds. The city didn’t contact Inter-Church, neglecting an agreement the two parties made when Inter-Church donated the sculpture in 1997.
Augsburger hopes to find a new location for the sculpture, she said, speaking by phone from her home in Harrisonburg, Va. Though has received inquiries from other places, she and the Metropolitan Police Department agree it should stay in the capital, she said.
“It was made for Washington,” she said. “Washington is one of the major cities in America that has a bad record of gun violence.”
She hopes publicity about the artwork being moved “will ripple into more interest in the sculpture and the meaning of the sculpture,” Augsburger said.
The Augsburgers came here in 1981 to plant Washington Community Fellowship, now a congregation of Virginia Conference of Mennonite Church USA.
Comments
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Let's remember one of the main reasons Washington D.C. had such a bad record of gun violence is because the City had a strong gun ban ordinance. Criminals knew they could freely move about because the law prevented individuals from owning guns to protect themselves. If this $100,000 piece of art is expected to reduce crime, then it should be positioned in the area of the city which has the highest crime rate. Perhaps a similar piece of art should be donated to Chicago which has a very high crime rate and also had a strict gun ban law until the Supreme Court recently determined it was unconstitutional.
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The "Plowshare - Dead Guns" sculpture generated much interest in Sarasota, Florida where Ringling College of Art and Design and the related Sarasota CAmpus Ministry is hopeful of doing something similar to warn of the many innocent lives ended and damaged by guns on the street.
The local Police are also twinterested.
The Artist, Esther Augsburger lived next door to the College in the 1950's when her husband Myron Augsburger was founding pastor of Bahia Vista Mennonite Church in Sarasota.
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The article says the sculpture was "a symbol of peace". How we need that now!
As to the crime rate, it is divided into "violent crime" and "property crime". The issue is gun violence and peace, not only crime.
As far as the violent crime rate, there are different figures given, but several cities have more violent crimes than Washington, D.C. or Chicago--namely Detroit, MI, Indianapolis, IN, and Toledo, OH.
I never heard of a gun that was not made with the ability to kill. I have heard of more deaths of children of parents who heard an "intruder" and shot the person (their child) than I have heard of successful "self defense" against an intruder who probably already has his loaded gun pointing at you.
I am totally in support of the gun control laws that are in effect because God says, "Thou shall not kill (murder)." No exceptions are given for self defense.
There are many more factors in crime than guns, but elimination of the multitude of guns will prevent many deaths. I did not write to eliminate guns for legitimate hunting. No gun control advocates that.
But as long as we have the NRA intimidating Congress and candidates for Congress, we will have an increase of guns--that has happened since President Obama has taken office because of the fear factor. I am glad that some people are getting bumper stickers "Driven by faith, not by fear". That is a statement of Christian faith and should be the a motto of all humans.
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Les, what is the objective of a $100,000 symbol of peace? Is it similar to the peace lamp Mennonites gave to Ahmadinejad?
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We should promote peace in whatever way we can.
What is the purpose of spending $300 billion on 2 wars by year end, killing thousands of people, destroying much property, making enemies, and continuing to disobey God's commands to love our enemies?
President George W. Bush said it was to help the economy. His history and thinking is distorted badly. It had a huge part in ruining our economy by the end of his 8 years. It will be years to recover--maybe not before the fall of USA.
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