Political Art

     Most, if not all works of art can be understood in social and political terms. Politics in the context of this exhibition needs to be defined. If it is understood as the active exercise of power in relation to a society or to a particular group of people, then the function of the artist is to articulate, examine and criticize that relationship. The question is, why criticize through static personal images, a form of communication that is seemingly passé; a means of communication that speaks to a very select audience. I have heard numerous artists say that political image making has no effect, and is therefore useless. However, making images that are both a reaction to power, as well as the essence of an individual's creative gesture, gives each individual a voice, like no other form of expression. It is the essence of freedom; and the significance of these images is not reduced because of the modesty of their direct effect on events. That is not their ultimate role. Art does not have to change the circumstance to have unique validity. Its validity and significance comes in power being both confronted and individualized. It produces a testament of individual perception, personal experience, criticism, hope, and anger. My work is a combination of my studio gesture, with my perception of the distortions of power, within the broader society and within myself.