Insurrection
On January 6, 2021, an insurrection attempted to disrupt the certification of the President of the United States. Images taken from the FBI website, which is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying individuals who made unlawful entry into the U.S. Capitol building, were collaged onto paintings produced in response to the devastation. Arrests are being made for criminal violations, such as destruction of property, assaulting law enforcement personnel, targeting members of the media for assault, and other unlawful conduct. https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/capitol-violence Insurrection, 5 ¾” x 7.5”, 28 pages, drum-leaf binding with paintings and collage
Constitutional Carry
“Constitutional Carry” is a gun-shaped book designed to fit into my father’s vintage police holster and be kept in a metal, locked gun safe. It is 7.25″ x 5″ with 20 pages incorporating the following text: The term constitutional carry, refers to the United States Constitution’s Second Amendment which gives citizens the right to bear arms, typically a handgun, openly or concealed, without a permit or license. All 50 states allow individuals to carry concealed weapons — 20 without a permit. Thirty-one states allow a handgun to be carried openly without a permit and an additional 15 allow open carry with a permit. Without a permit and background check, it is possible for convicted criminals, individuals with mental health issues, dishonorably discharged military personnel and non-US citizens to legally carry guns in public. The US is the only nation with more guns than people. In 2020, 17 million handguns were sold — 64% more than in the previous year, and about 1/5 to first-time buyers. One third of households in the US own guns and estimates suggest that 3-million adults carry loaded handguns every day. The US has a total rate of firearms death which is 50 to 100 times greater than that of many similarly wealthy nations with strict gun control laws, such as the United Kingdom. Although self-defense is often cited as the reason individuals need guns, a successful defense occurs in less than one percent of crimes. And while mass shootings have been covered extensively in the media, they account for a small fraction of gun-related deaths. More than one-third of the 100 Americans gun deaths each day are homicides and the remaining two-thirds are suicides. Gun violence in the US results in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries and costs taxpayers more than half a billion dollars in direct hospital costs annually. While there are efforts to control the proliferation of guns and the ensuing violence, more states are loosening restrictions to owning and carrying handguns. These competing issues are among the most widely debated and contentious in the US today and perhaps with the most potential for disaster.
Requiem
Several years ago, I visited Robert Louis Stevenson’s home in Samoa, photographed his gravesite and bought vintage tapa cloth. This year, restricted by the pandemic from traveling, I used the text from his poem, and completed “Requiem”. “Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie, Glad did I live and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will. This is the verse you grave for me, Here he lies where he longed to be, Home is the sailor, home from the sea, And the hunter home from the hill.” It is an edition of two, 7”x5”, with 24 pages, a drum-leaf binding with mixed media and has a vintage tapa cloth cover and box, with the text below in the back of the box. REQUIEM In 1889 Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish author of Treasure Island and Kidnapped, settled in the Samoan islands in Vailima, a home he built for his extended family. Immersing himself in the culture, he became a reporter and an agitator, alarmed above all by what he perceived as the Samoans’ economic innocence. In 1894 just months before his death, he addressed the island chiefs: “There is but one way to defend Samoa. Hear it before it is too late. It is to make roads, and gardens, and care for your trees, and sell their produce wisely … if you do not occupy and use your country, others will. It will not continue to be yours or your children’s”. Stevenson died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1894 at the age of 44. The Samoans bore him on their shoulders to nearby Mount Vaea, where they buried him on a spot overlooking the sea. He was loved by the Samoans, and his tombstone epigraph, included in this book, was translated to a Samoan song of grief. Five years later, in 1899, the Samoan Islands were partitioned between Germany and the United States.
Anocracy
Sixteen page concertina on Arches cover black, 6.5” x 6.5” closed, 6.5” x 104” open. Mixed media, painting and collage in box 6.75” x 6.75” x 2”. The text in the box reads: Two hundred years ago, with a world population of one billion, the vast majority lived in colonies, under the political control of an- other country, or in autocratic regimes where a single person, the autocrat, possessed absolute power. Less than 1% lived in a de- mocracy where citizens exercised power by voting for their leaders in elections. Today more than half the world’s population live in democracies, while a quarter live under autocratic rule. Between Autocracy and Democracy is Anocracy. It may be Closed where competitors are drawn from the company’s elite or Open where others may also compete. Today, Democracy is in crisis. The values it embodies—particularly the right to choose leaders in free and fair elections, freedom of the press, and the rule of law—are under assault and in retreat glob- ally. The challenges within democratic states have fueled the rise of leaders who appeal to anti-immigrant sentiment and undermine fundamental civil and political liberties. If not checked, this move toward Anocracy will include the replace- ment of global democratic norms with authoritarian practices and elections in which the incumbent’s victory is assured. The media landscape will be dominated by propagandists who marginalize the opposition and promote the regime’s message. There will be state control over the internet and social media and corruption, injustice, and impunity for abuses. In this country, by ensuring that every citizen has the right to be heard and elections are open and fair, we can work to retain our Democracy. As individuals, our vote is our voice.
Forgetting
To evoke memories of the past, this poem by Emily Dickinson was handwritten then obliterated. “If recollecting were forgetting, Then I remember not. And if forgetting, recollecting, How near I had forgot. And if to miss, were merry, And to mourn, were gay, How very blithe the fingers That gathered this, Today!” Twelve pages, 7.5” x 5.25”, mixed media, painting and collage, simplified binding. Cover and slipcase, eco printed wool over board
Mind Games
This Jacob’s Ladder/ Magic Box is a unique interactive structure, 9.75” x 3.25” x 3.25“, with thirty-six surfaces. The boxes contain vintage ephemera, including game pieces and blocks and the panels are collaged with printed information. Various surfaces are exposed as the box is opened from different directions. The box is held closed box with a 3” wide elastic and brain-like button closing. Text on the panels include: Mind Games are deliberate attempts to psychologically manipulate someone. They are covert, coercive, manipulative intentions masked by innocent sounding communication. Mind Game language is designed to confuse and keep the victim from guessing the perpetrator’s true aim. mind games. pl n. actions or statements intended to undermine or mislead someone else, often to gain advantage for oneself she started playing mind games with me. © 2022 Dictionary.com, LLC. Perhaps the most nefarious of mind games is called “gaslighting.” Someone who uses this manipulative tactic might say something, then deny they ever said it, or tell someone their gut feelings are all in their head. They want you to question reality so you feel off balance. Mind Games are a psychological tactic used to manipulate or intimidate —usually used in plural played mind games with his opponent. You never know where you stand. … You’re questioning yourself more. … They put you down, a lot. … They try to turn others against you. … They claim you’re a liar. … They make endless comparisons. … You always have to go to them. … They regularly shut you out. Learn to quickly recognize the signs of control and manipulation. … Refuse to give up your power. … Plan ahead how you will respond. … Focus on yourself. … Take a deep breath and square your shoulders.
Mixed Messages
Embossed metallic text on Arches cover black concertina with mica. Ten pages 3.5” x 2.25” closed, 3.5″ x 22.5” open. In vintage brass box 3.75” x 2.5” x 2”. Text on the back of the box reads: A signal, message or communication that has, or is interpreted as having, multiple ambiguous or contradictory meanings.