War: Dance of Death in Black, White, and Blood Red All Over, is the name of a timely exhibition of woodcuts shown at the A Shenere Velt Gallery in Los Angeles. Printmaker Kurt Brian Webb’s blunt, no-nonsense graphic style makes clear an unequivocal opposition to the forces of war and militarism through prints that are at once honest, sardonic, and…
Today the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed the deaths of four U.S. soldiers in Iraq, bringing the American death toll to 4,000. When I posted my very first article on this blog in November of 2004, some 849 U.S. soldiers had been killed in Iraq. The four American soldiers who lost their lives today died…
To mark the 5th anniversary of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, Foreign Policy in Focus magazine asked me to write a review of Artists Against The War, an exhibition of antiwar art organized and presented by the New York-based Society of Illustrators. The following article was originally published in FPIF, March 18, 2008. ______________ On May 1, 2003, George…
“They say Osama’s in the mountains deep in a cave near Pakistan But there’s a sea of blood in Baghdad A sea of oil in the sand Between the Tigris and Euphrates another day comes to an end It’s Christmas In Fallujah Peace on earth goodwill to men It’s Christmas In Fallujah hallelujah hallelujah hoorah.” Words and Music By Billy…
Two very different diamond rings are the focus of artworks currently being discussed in the art world and beyond – Blue Diamond, a sculpture by postmodernist Jeff Koons, and Marine Wedding, a photograph by Nina Berman. The artworks are poles apart, but each illustrates in its own way the crisis American society has fallen into. The works also exemplify the…
Fundamental is an international touring art exhibition that explores the prickly subject of fundamentalist religious intolerance at the turn of the 21st century. I’m pleased to announce that my painting, A People Under Command: USA Today, is included in the exhibit, which tours four European cities from September 2007 until June 2008. Fundamental will premiere at two venues in Manchester,…
I once saw a photograph of an artist painting a mural, and what came to mind? That the artist was playing a constructive role in society by creating a public work meant to beautify his community? Of course I had many reactions to the photo, but in reading about the actual circumstances in which it was made, suddenly a different…
On Saturday, July 28th, 2007, I spoke at an artist’s forum celebrating the official Los Angeles debut of the newly published art book, Yo! What Happened to Peace? Held at the Continental Gallery in downtown L.A., the book premiere event was a lively evening of art, music and dialogue well attended by over 500 people. [ Crowds view the prints…
