Matthew Schultz Uses Art To Teach Lessons On Propaganda

A local professor uses art to prove it’s easy to fall for propaganda. He says he wants those who see his work to be inspired to think critically. Rachel Otwell takes us to his exhibit: 

You can find more information about the ‘The History of the Division’ exhibit at the James S. Murray Gallery at Lincoln Land Community College here.

Audio of entire lecture by Matthew Schultz on ‘The Division’:

TRANSCRIPT —

OTWELL: On the night of the reception, the sky was overcast, and rain fell off and on. On my walk into Menard Hall on the Lincoln Land Community College campus, flags blew violently in the wind and tree branches swayed back and forth. The atmosphere seemed to set the right mood for what I was about to witness. I first heard about “The Division” months ago when a friend of mine came across its website. The site went into detail about a historical and mystical fraternal order.

There were pictures and descriptions of three men in The Division, and it seemed that Springfield-based artist Matthew Schultz resembled all of them. If that wasn’t enough proof that it was all a hoax, a Google search made it clear that there was no such “division.” Did Schultz really think he could get away with the all the lies? And artist or not, why would someone go to all that trouble – putting together a made-up history complete with photographs and artifacts. Well, I was about to find out. In a classroom near the James S. Murray Gallery where his exhibit was on display, Schultz gave a lecture to a full room, peppered with other artists and students:

SCHULTZ: “What is the exhibition for the history of The Division? And more appropriately I think is ‘What the hell is going on here?’ [laughing] tends to be what I hear from the viewer, and what I’ve done, is I have created an entire farcical world that is a hermetic fraternal order, so for those of you who don’t know a hermetical fraternal order would be like the Free Masons.”

OTWELL: The exhibit is set up to look like it belongs in a museum, complete with glass cases that enclose the many pseudo-historical objects that Schultz has created. Viewers are given a CD player with an audio tour, there’s a guide who gives the bogus history about Schultz’s creations.

AUDIO TOUR: Welcome to the exhibition for the history of The Division.

OTWELL: In tracing the phony fraternal order throughout the centuries Schultz has four cave paintings, it’s said that The Division’s origins date back to ancient times and its members believe in reincarnation. The exhibit also includes a more modern scene with a mannequin of a soldier and a motor-bike. On the wall hangs a large painting that looks like its from an old-fashioned circus, the kind that would have a freak show. By the painting is an encased little mummy, and it looks pretty real. Schultz lets those who attend the lecture in on the fact that randomly dispersed among the audio CDs are copies where the character of a 12 year old girl records over the official narrator to give her own tour:

AUDIO TOUR: “Aha I found the record button, never give a recording device to a 12 year old. That old guy is such a fuddy duddy, BORING! ‘Welcome to the history of ‘The Division.’ WHATEVER! I’m going to lead my own audio tour. These cave paintings are silly, it looks like graffiti but it’s not as cool. They all look like the same cave wall, what’s that about? They found five caves with the same walls and then cut out that wall, who would believe that? OMG…”

OTWELL: Schultz says the girl’s character brings an element of truth to the experience, since she mocks the facade.

Adam Dees is from Rochester, he takes a graphic design class that Schultz teaches at Lincoln Land. He attended the lecture so he’s privy to the hoax, but he admits it all seems very realistic:

DEES: “Well unless they’re told that it’s actually all art-work, I can see people like believing that these things are real, because those … cave-drawings … they actually look like they’re made of rock, like textures, the coloring, they actually look realistic, the mummy over there, whenever I first saw it I was thinking, is that a real mummy?”

OTWELL: Schultz says usually viewers aren’t told about the hoax, they come…

SCHULTZ: “And then we just kind of let them go, and as they research stuff, you know the plaques on the wall are all labored with text right and you have audio tours, and all these things, they start to kind of figure it out as they go, and so I think it’s a softer approach of just kind of saying do your research and don’t believe everything that’s given to you.”

OTWELL: Schultz says The Division serves as a way for him to examine his own spiritual views, which include his belief in past lives:

SCHULTZ: “For me it kind of works as my own personal kind of hierarchical system, like there are farcical components, it’s entertaining, it’s an art project. But you know as art goes, as an artist, I definitely am fleshing out myself and my belief systems.”

OTWELL: Schultz says he’ll continue adding to The Division indefinitely, with hopes of continuing to show that without a proper dose of distrust, it’s all too easy to fall for it.