Gun Show
Like many artists, my interests stem from what’s going on around me which can generate work that is sociopolitical in context. I am especially concerned with the issue of gun violence and have created a series illustrating the gun lobby’s overextended arm in blocking necessary gun control laws. This two dimensional series consists of oil paintings as well as collages and ink drawings on paper. The collages, comprised of various components of hand guns, rifles, assault weapons, and their respective accessories, are constructed from printed images, glued down, and enhanced with colored pencil. Figurative in nature, the works evoke Bob Fosse song and dance performers, complete with spotlit, sexy moves. My objective is to unmask these hoofers as flim-flam men of sorts, with lots of tricks up their sleeves, mesmerizing all who come to see the show on the political stage circuit.
In addition, this series includes mixed-media collages examining the relationship between gun ownership and social identity, specifically the entertainment industry’s depiction of gun violence and its deification of both stereotypical and iconic gun-toting figures. These works observe the chronology of how guns and the assailants carrying them have been represented, ranging from the “Winchester ’73” Western genre, to 1920’s bootleggers brandishing Tommy Guns, to mass murderers wielding AR-15 rifles. Over time, the firearm industry’s overwhelming marketing schemes - its glorification of both heroes and villains - has distorted the gun owner’s sense of reality, engendering a romanticized culture of violence rooted in deception. As with the political climate, this milieu can shift toward seriously barbaric territory in the blink of an eye.
