You could call them roving art exhibitions, with a bit of Burning Man thrown in.
The anti-war demonstrations, that is.
In recent months, Bay Area peace activists have infused their dissent with creativity, bringing music, elaborate costumes, sculpture, guerrilla theater and performance art to numerous rallies, marches and vigils.
The predominance of art has allowed activists to cross language and cultural barriers and has added spunk, humor and powerful visual images to events that used to be filled with long speeches and chanting. At times, the artwork has diffused tense confrontations with police.
``This is the nicest thing I've seen all week,'' said Bob Mammone of the San Francisco Police Department, as he watched 40 ``Yoga for Peace'' activists exercise on purple and blue mats in front of the Transamerica Pyramid recently. ``It's good for the soul. It's totally peaceful, and it changes the tone of the demonstrations.''
Unlike the pro-war rallies and protests, where placards, yellow ribbons and red white and blue clothing seem to be the primary forms of creative expression, there are so many artists involved in anti-war demonstrations that it's hard to keep track of them all. Dozens of singers regularly gather at BART stations to sing peace songs. The ``Mystic Family Circus'' dances in the streets. A brass band called the BLO, or the Brass Liberation Orchestra, belts out international labor songs and traditional anthems like ``Down by the Riverside.'' Another brass band called MAG, or the Musicians' Action Group, has played at Bay Area demonstrations and rallies for progressive political causes for more than 20 years.
The recent civil disobedience in San Francisco is based on a decentralized organizing model that serve artists well. Small groups of friends from Los Altos to Oakland have formed autonomous ``affinity groups'' that make decisions about how to protest independently. Various affinity groups then assemble into bigger ``clusters'' that plan specific direct actions together. The ``Arts Cluster'' is one of the largest, with more than 100 Bay Area artists meeting regularly.
``Bay Area artists have always been political, but the response now is like nothing I've ever seen before,'' said Leda Dederich, a singer and organizer with ``Direct Action to Stop the War,'' an umbrella group organizing numerous protests. ``The cops love the art because it chills everybody out. If you're in a non-violent movement, art is your ally.''
Direct Action to Stop the War has called for April 7 to be a national day of civil disobedience at federal and other government buildings, oil corporations and arms manufacturers.
James Ace doesn't think of himself as an artist, but he spent more than 100 hours building a model Army tank that is mounted on bicycle wheels. He wanted to build something ominous that would bring the gravity of war home to people who have never seen tanks on neighborhood streets.
``I'm meeting folks that I've never met before, and it's all because of this art project,'' said Ace, 31, of Oakland. ``People are really drawn to it, and it's allowed me to have discussions with people from all walks of life. They saw it and their jaws dropped.''
Another recruit
Vivek Kumar, 27, was born in India and lives in San Jose. A software engineer, he was so drawn to the project that he is helping Ace take the tank to various peace gatherings around the Bay Area.
``I work this regular 9 to 5 job,'' Kumar said. ``Then I met James, and I thought the tank was such a great idea that now we have become good friends and I am helping him. When you talk to someone, they just listen. When you use art, there are multiple senses. It leaves a bigger impression.''
Bread and Puppet, which formed in the Lower East Side of New York in 1963, pioneered the idea of adding art to political demonstrations during the Vietnam War. The group's large puppets and masks are now a common sight at anti-war demonstrations in New York, Boston and Montreal.
Bread and Puppet inspired a group of Bay Area women to make the ``Mourning Mothers'' -- large papier-mache masks that depict Iraqi women in mourning.
``We want to make our opposition to the war in Iraq visible, and art is a very powerful way of demonstrating that,'' said Judy Haney, a Silicon Valley technical writer involved with the group. ``The masks really bring home the cost of war to Iraqi civilians, and that's something that is very important to communicate.''
Many artists and musicians interviewed say that while they are opposed to the war in Iraq, they are also making a statement about what they are protesting for.
Positive notes
Paul Schmitt is an environmentalist who lives in Palo Alto. He plays the trumpet and joined the Brass Liberation Orchestra after hearing it at a demonstration.
``When we're able to make music on the streets, we're saying: This is the world we want to live in,'' said Schmitt, 29. ``For me, I'd much rather dwell on the positive. The angry chants at the rallies serve a purpose for a very short period of time, but for the long term we need to please each other and please ourselves. I'm not going to any more rallies without bringing my trumpet.''
