In 1985, “Pyre for the American Dream” was created for Neo-York, Seattle, an exhibit of emerging New York artists and Seattle artists curated for COCA by Ben Marks. In this piece, a very large cardboard box, collaged with full-page magazine ads for fancy cars and other luxury items formed a ‘room’ with a high-rise view. In it a collaged cardboard chair faced a collaged cardboard television that was illuminated from within by an actual TV. This stand in for the American Dream was perched on a bonfire of ‘missiles,’ collaged with funereal papers (including Hell Bank Notes). With this ‘pyre’ I questioned the materialist dream and it’s ever-clearer relationship to militarism.
I had hoped to actually set the pyre ablaze after the close of the exhibit, but that proved difficult to organize, so (following the lead of the Reagan administration) I sold off the armaments in one of my studio/rummage sales.
No comments:
Post a Comment