Summary
While all of Pinky Swears works speak out against America's present political course, some are more searing in their condemnations than others. Perhaps the most conceptually compelling is Bob Ziller's 2007 sculpture "Trophy." It directly addresses the issue of broken promises, particularly those relating to the Geneva Conventions and the writ of habeas corpus, meant to prevent unlawful detention. Composed of a rusty shovel head mounted on a concrete cylinder, "Trophy" bears the scratched silhouette of the now-iconic hooded and wired Abu Ghraib prisoner Satar Jabar. The aggressive method by which the image was created - by scraping away the shovel's surface - and the conceptually shrewd use of the shovel itself contribute to the work's power: Shovels are funerary implements crucial to burial. They also imply hole-digging, both ideological and literal.
Hagit Barkai's oil on canvas "The Waiter" (2007-), which depicts a near-faceless, naked figure apparently bound and seated on a wooden bench, and Judy Charlson's undated raku bas reliefs "Hanging Out in Baghdad" all deal with confinement, torture and the paradox of "forced democratization" on a more visceral level.See the full content of this document
Extract
Pledges and Politics
PINKY SWEAR: A POLITICAL EXHIBITION ADDRESSING PROMISES
Pledges and Politicscontinues through Aug. 1. Fe Gallery, 4102 Butler St., Lawrencevillle. 412-860-6028WHILE CONTEMPORARY ART has long inclined toward perso...See the full content of this document
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