Recycle, retask, rethink…

#1 The Audacity of Capitalism, Personal Accountability and Contract Law & #2 Hope and Change; Change and Hope by JLS for JLS – 2008 thru 2010. I created these pieces during a period of general worldwide depression. The economy was in a nose-dive, basic systems were failing or being bailed out by a government that lost its mind…and all of this was covered best by the dying media that is the newspaper.

The visual theme was to cobble together newspaper clippings that spoke to me at the time, and to group them/apply them in a way that might suggest a wall in a busy city where one might find posters pasted without regard for the one next to it, under it, below it, etc. The depth and layering is also meant to suggest that there is always more to the story (the piece in question just scratches the surface). The use of headlines only or perhaps graphics only suggests that some messages are just that simple and don't need more. In any case, these boards capture a period of time in our history where there was a decent chance that the engines really would stop (respect to John Galt). This is my case..one might also argue that this is the visual result of one man's temporary (and perhaps ongoing?) insanity brought on by overexposure to gloom and doom reporting. In any case…

Structurally, these boards are simply plywood. I have applied layers of newsprint pages to the raw board to produce a less even base texture (overlapping pages create small seems). Over this I have laid the clips that I collected from a variety of sources, but mostly the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times, the two papers that I get to see daily in my "professional" life, with other periodicals of a similar "theme" represented as well. The clips are then sealed with an acrylic medium (multiple layers). The final effect is inconsistent – sometimes smooth, sometimes slightly wrinkled, sometimes clear, sometimes a little foggy. This was by design. The clips are often off-center, cut with less than square edges, and the edges of the boards are not well finished…all by design.

I have produced two "series" so far. The first is a four piece series that I titled "The Audacity of Capitalism, Personal Accountability and Contract Law". These boards are the largest pieces, coming in at 4' wide by 6' high, and weighing a decent lot. The second is a three piece series that I titled "Hope and Change; Change and Hope". These boards are smaller than series one, and measure 2' wide by 4' high. The photo you see here is one of the first series.

The original intent with these pieces was simply a method of expression for the artist. After the first one didn't totally suck, I kept going as the materials were flowing out of the media at the time. When I ran out of wall space in my main room, I decided to do a second series, if only to make sure that the best clips were protected and used. While the materials may not be as easy to find anymore, I have more items that I think would make for great pieces and I continue to collect more as I find them. Where series one was directed more at the potential for imminent destruction of our financial system, series two started to introduce more melancholy humor, and I think the pieces that I plan to create from here will use these themes as well as introduce items that represent what can only be called "asinine bravado", something many of us (me perhaps more than most) thought would remain absent from society for a while after so many issues were exposed a few years ago.

As with most art, these pieces aren't for everyone. The most rewarding thing for me is to see that these pieces absolutely stir some emotion in everyone who sees them – joy, despair, wonder, fear, bewilderment, curiosity, etc. I have had offers to purchase these, and I would love the chance to show them somewhere with more traffic to see how a larger group of people react. I cannot part with series one given the emotional attachment I have to what was going on (if only with me) when they were produced. Series two is also likely not for sale, but I would entertain offers. I do plan to go back into production in short order and would love to hear from people if they are interested in purchasing one of series three (haven't decided on sizes yet, but probably a few like series one and a few like series two). If you have interest, ping me on the blog and we can talk offline.