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Artist Vitus Shell is a force for change

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  Artist Vitus Shell is a force for change BY PATRICIA GANNON | CONTRIBUTING WRITER DEC 30, 2019 THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE Staff Photo by Leslie Westbrook Critics have long argued that all art is political, a statement and motivation for society to change. Others counter that art is simply aesthetics and medium with no ideological agenda attached. Artist Vitus Shell is straight up political. His first funded solo museum exhibition, “‘Bout it ‘Bout it, The Political Power of Just Being,” is on view at the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum in Lafayette. The 17 portraits and one mural are painted on paper, cut out then composed on backgrounds of collages. This art has a gravitational pull that can’t be ignored. “The title came first,” said Shell. “I knew the idea I wanted to play around with.” “Bout it, ‘Bout it,” a reference to rapper Master P, means being about this thing or what the show is about. The rest, "The Political Power of Just Being," refers to looking at issu