POLITICAL VIEWS 2005

BARS AND STRIPES - sold

57 X 36 in.
American flag fabric w/ acrylic paint and oil stick
2005
This piece suggests that governments created the disaster of 9/11 for the purpose of capturing people on surveillance cameras. Excerps from "Alice in Wonderland and the World Trade Center Disaster" by David Icke are written on the art. "I can't say in precise detail how the events of September 11th were pulled off. But what we do know is that...the official story is a monumental lie..."

JUST A DUMMY - sold

44 x 29 in.
Acrylic, oil stick and collage on canvas with string, attached to found wood
2005
Just a dummie...oops "dummy" is a play on words about the president during the Bush Administration. The hands that manipulate the puppet are made from the stock market page in the newspaper. "Who's pulling the strings?" is written on the handle.

FEAR KILLS FREEDOM - sold

30 X 26 in.
Acrylic paint, fabric and collage with copy of US Constitution and John Hancock signature
(from Ralph Nader for President '04 Campaign) on canvas.
2005
This piece shows laws of the US Patriot Act, which allow the government to invade the privacy of its citizens under the guise of keeping them safe from terrorists.
A "bullet" hole is drilled in the "O" of "FREEDOM" and the stripes bleed.

THE DOG HOUSE

43 x 27 in.
Acrylic and oil stick on canvas with dog teeth made from ripped canvas, stapled to found wood. 2005
This piece about the detainees in Guantanamo Bay has lyrics from the Rolling Stones written on the canvas:
"Democracy, that's our style...Unless you don't agree with us, then it's prison without trial".

IMAGINE

33 x 35 in.
Acrylic on canvas with a newspaper clipping of the peace symbol;
A machine gun is made from found wood with pop-out cork.
2005
The profiles of two soldiers are camouflaged. The peace symbol is a double image for their eyes.
A quote from Albert Einstein is written on the painting:
"The pioneers of a warless world are the youth who refuse military service".

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS "Orders From Headquarters"

First of 3 boxes with hinged cabinet doors 13 x 14 x 6 in.
2008
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS is a construction made from old, found wood and mixed media. The viewer will follow the sequence from the first box (which shows a soldier following orders to kill) to the last box (which shows his own death).
On this box, a map of Iraq is on the door knob.

ORDERS FROM HEADQUARTERS (interior)

When you open the door on the box you will see a toy plastic soldier flexing his muscles standing in front of a war scene in Iraq. Created with photo collage and paint on ripped canvas, the backdrop shows photos of wounded and dead Iraqi children. A photocopy of the United States Pentagon is mounted on the back of the door.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS "Headquarters"

Second of 3 boxes with hinged cabinet doors 13 x 14 x 6 in.
2008
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS relays the message that governments and big business use war as a money-maker. It is also believed that those who control the oil, control the world.

HEADQUARTERS (interior)

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS-"Headquarters"
Inside the second box are five oil company logos mounted on the backdrop in the shape of a pentagon. The American Flag waves over the gas tank.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS "In God We Trust"

Last of 3 boxes with hinged cabinet doors 13 x 14 x 6 in.
2008
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS suggests that soldiers believe that they are fighting enemies when they are actually dying for someone’s power and wealth and murdering innocent people along the way.

IN GOD WE TRUST (interior)

Mounted on the back of the door are copies of two photos. One is of the sculpture, Pieta, by Michelangelo. The other is that of an Iraqi man wearing a turban who is holding the same pose as the veiled Mary. In the man’s arms, draped like the slain Jesus, is a young girl whose feet have been blown off during the bombing of war.
The inside of the box has a back drop of a Madonna-like figure. A cross is pasted over her heart to look like a pendant from a necklace, a sign of high moral values. The cross is actually a photo taken from Time magazine of an American soldier’s grave. In front of the grave lies the plastic soldier. He is shown to be dead and lying on grass of green money.
The inscription on U.S. currency reads: In God We Trust.

WEATHER OR NOT?

44 x 26 in.
Acrylic, oil stick and photo collage (Time Magazine) on canvas, stapled to found wood frame.
2005
This piece asks the question: was Hurricane Katrina controlled by man?
The rain pours down; gas prices rise; a dead body lies in a puddle of mud.