THE FACES OF RESISTANCE
BY LYDIA HOWELL
BY LYDIA HOWELL
These are some of the elements that converged within Michael Bayly, propelling him to become an activist-photographer in a synergy of political engagement and artistry, creating hisFaces of Resistance exhibit.
"It struck me that most people have a very limited, very biased idea of people who take to the streets or take a stand," he said. "The mainstream corporate media tends to focus only on certain elements and do the justice and peace movement a great disservice."
From peace activist elders like Polly Mann and WWII conscientious objector Dave Dellinger to the coalition of indigenous people, Earth First! activists and homeowners opposing the Highway 55 reroute; from protests against corporate globalization to faith-based peace vigils, Bayly depicts rich diversity.
His introduction to social justice issues other than GLBT rights was the weekly Wednesday morning vigils at weapons manufacturer Alliant Techsystems three years ago.
"Immersed in that empowering community, I wanted a memory of that," he said. From there, he became involved with movements to lift sanctions on Iraq and to close the School of the Americas (SOA). "I had the realization that all these things were connected," he said.
With vibrant colors, Bayly's photographs communicate that ultimate unity of collective action. Whether in downtown Minneapolis during the war in Yugoslavia or in a sea of white crosses at Fort Benning, home of the SOA, his images convey a sense of momentum.
"[I've] become more human, more aware of the suffering of others. But it's also made me more cynical, especially about government and corporate interests. You start to make the connections and see that these problems stem from an economic system that puts profit before anything else. It's a rude awakening," he said.
Yet "awakenings" seems to be the energy informing Bayly as both artist and activist. Like his individual portraits, with their Walker Evans like dignity, Bayly's commitments have deeply personal roots.
"Inherently, my involvement with justice and peace issues was a natural extension of my coming out process." Bayly is candidly at ease. "That process is all about consciousness - the expansion of consciousness. Having been oppressed, I think it should attune you to the oppression of others."
Bayly is an Australian immigrant who came to the U.S. six years ago, in large measure to seek more freedom as a gay man. Perhaps his "outsider" identities account in part for Bayly's perceptiveness beyond the mainstream media's narrow view of those who protest. In his lens, dissidents could be your neighbors, teachers, or grandmother, crossing the boundaries of age, economics and race. While he includes famous people (like Pacifica Radio's Democracy Now! journalist Amy Goodman, somber in the rain at the SOA), primarily Bayly pays tribute to "ordinary" people: veterans, students, mothers.
"Sometimes there would be an opportunity for a great photograph, but I decided I would be stepping outside the community too much, that it would be too intrusive to the person I wanted to photograph," he said. "So I've chosen to stay in solidarity with the community as a whole and not take the shot."
Contrasting the portraits' solid resoluteness, Bayly's narrative (action) series has a sense of cinematic sweep energizing them. He confirms this, acknowledging "a great love of film. I think in cinematic terms." But the inspiration goes back even further.
"As a child, I discovered in a garden shed, comic strips my father collected as a youth: Prince Valiant. Despite being at an age when I couldn't read, I was still very drawn to those comics. Hal Foster's drawings are exquisite. I could follow those panels and track the stories, and what incredible stories they were!" He ruefully laughs about the irony in being a peace activist inspired by a sword-wielding hero.
"There was a dynamic quality to those pictures," he continued. "A sense of story unfolding to some sort of climax. The photographs that best express that are the ones documenting the Highway 55 struggle. Unfortunately the climax was the taking down of the trees. But that struggle is not over and I have pictures to add."
The exhibit includes photos of the Highway 55 struggle from August 1997 to December 1999, and these are the most realized of Bayly's vision. There's a sense of entering into the heart of these events and the spirit of the encampment established by those opposed to the rerouting of Highway 55. The culminating pictures of the trees' destruction immediately echo war atrocity photographs.
Although Bayly has "taken pictures since [he] was a kid," his first exhibit was at last fall's Committing to Peace Conference in St. Paul. In Australia he taught elementary school, and with a Master's Degree in theology from St. Catherine's, teaches part-time college courses, one of which looks at how film is capable of depicting "the spiritual journey." Spirituality is yet another inspiration for him.
"If someone says they are religious or spiritual, how could they not be involved in these issues?" he asks with his characteristic gentle intensity. "Being involved in ever-expanding consciousness is intrinsic to the spirit. It's challenging and disturbing, but with a community to support you, it's also beautiful and wondrous. So much of my way of thinking about God and Christ is tied to my belief that we're called as humans to be agents of God's transformative presence and love in the world. That's how God works - through people who are open to God's spirit of transformation.
Lydia Howell
Pulse of the Twin Cities
31 May, 2000