(Minghui.org) “Wow. The paintings brought tears to my eyes. The exhibit is amazing. Thank you so much!” “It was breathtaking. I am at a loss for words. Thank you!” These are some messages left in the guest book by viewers of the Truth-Compassion-Forbearance Art Exhibition held in Wisconsin's Capitol building. It lasted for two weeks and concluded on August 4.

Truth-Compassion-Forbearance Art Exhibition held in Wisconsin's Capitol building.

A girl from Tennessee is moved to tears when seeing paintings depicting Falun Gong practitioners being tortured in China for their belief.

There were many touching stories during the exhibition. Mr. Stuart, a well-known local reporter came to the Capitol twice and talked with practitioners in detail about the theme of the exhibition. After listening to a practitioner’s story of how his father was imprisoned for three years for practicing Falun Gong, he made a video report and posted it online.

A lady with a young girl told a practitioner that they had been to the exhibition the day before after a brief viewing. After returning home, the daughter told her mother that she saw an angel walk out of the picture and the angel told her to come back to view the painting again. The next day, the mother and her daughter came to the exhibition again and viewed each painting carefully. The mother said that the experience was spiritually uplifting.

One day, when the exhibition had just started, a police officer in the building came to the practitioner’s table. He asked a practitioner, “Are you a painter?” After he learned that the practitioner was an organizer of the exhibition, he said sincerely that he'd viewed all of the paintings, “Very impressive, very enlightening. I had never thought of such things…” He seemed to have difficulty finding the proper words to express his feelings from viewing the paintings.

State Senator Chris Larson and his assistant listen as a practitioner explains the background of the artwork.

State Senator Chris Larson is the youngest senator in Wisconsin. He was elected to be a senator when he was younger than 30 years old. He wrote to President Obama and asked him to speak out to help stop the persecution of Falun Gong. He came to view the paintings under the invitation of a practitioner and studied each one carefully.

Madison is a city with different cultures and ethnicities. It has beautiful scenery. The well-known University of Wisconsin is located in Madison. Tourists from around the world visit the city and the capitol building is one of the tourist destinations.  

An Iranian-American family came to view the paintings. The mother said that she felt each painting spoke to her and she completely understood the paintings with images of deities and Buddha. She said, “We cannot do nothing when we see such kind-hearted people suffering. At least we can pray. Angels and deities will bring them to heaven.”

The paintings describing the persecution were based on real stories. Many viewers thought the persecution was incredibly cruel. A girl from Tennessee shed tears when seeing the paintings describing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s live organ harvesting and CCP police hanging and beating a female Falun Gong practitioner. She said, “How can such cruel things happen? How can the persecution extend even to young children?” while pointing to a painting depicting a young girl holding a cinerary casket.

During the exhibition, there were also many Chinese visitors. A couple of young visitors who will return to China in September listened to a practitioner’s explanation of the facts and viewed the paintings. They renounced the CCP and its affiliated organizations.

High school students from China view the paintings.

A Chinese tour group of high school students visited the capitol and saw the exhibition. Many of them took photos using cell phones. They were excited and curious. A Chinese scholar accepted a paper lotus flower carefully and said he would take it back to China.

Christy from Germany said, “I hope China will change soon.”

Christy from Germany was doing a short-term academic exchange at the University of Wisconsin. She learned of the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong when she was in Germany, but this was her first time to view the exhibition. She viewed the paintings carefully for quite a while. She had some knowledge about Tibetan Buddhism. She thought the inspiration of the paintings was from Buddha and it was important to have belief. She expressed her support for Falun Gong practitioners and said sincerely, “I hope China will change soon!”