Artist Statement
Through the scouring of history for usable symbols, my artwork seeks to recontextualize what is signified through them. Within the context of the cold war, the atomic age, and the United States current global actions my metalworking peels some of the hopeful veneer established by those prior generations. The permanence and preciousness of the materials I use will hopefully linger in my viewers’ cognition when they are confronted with similar contemporary propaganda and loosen the effectiveness of such messaging. The process of finding under utilized political messages from decades past and the research involved is an enjoyable process, and promoting the spread of the visual aspects of our social history is a goal of my work. For Turning Coat, I have created objects in metal- a cast challenge coin, money clip, and playing cards- with imagery of American propaganda. I hope that through my art, people will seek connections between our past and our current political struggles, and avoid prior generations’ pitfalls.
