Elephant in the Room

2008-10-18T12:25:00.001-07:00

Directory of Sculptures:
Listed in alphabetical order.

Bush's
Blue
Dress
(click title for more)

Constitutional
Crazy Quilt
(click title for more)

Democratic
Spine
(click title for more)

Denial R U.S.
(click title for more)

Dishonorable
Mention
(click title for more)

Constitutional
Doublecross
(click title for more)

Lost
Treasure
(click title for more)

Midas
Touch
(click title for more)

With Us or
Agin' Us
(click title for more)

NOTE: You're welcome to share my artwork and comments with anyone you think might appreciate them. But I ask that you give proper credit of these copyrighted works and link them back to this blog. None of this artwork may be used by others for profit of any kind.

11th Hour: The Elephant in the Room

2008-10-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

Democratic Spine ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

"It's the Eleventh Hour....these are the last days before the historic presidential election, and there's no better way to inspire yourself to vote than viewing some great political art.

Our featured artist, Emily Duffy, has spent the last year creating this show. It is part of a nation-wide exhibit of political art sponsored by Art of Democracy (artofdemocracy.org) and we are proud to be showing it here in Joshua Tree.

So please join us for a Gallery Crawl with Red Arrow Gallery on Saturday, Oct. 11, 7-10 pm. We'll have a bunch of art cars outside the True World, and food and drink inside. And don't forget to vote!"

Bonnie Kopp
True World Gallery
61740 29 Palms Highway
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
(760) 366-2300
trueworldgallery.com

Denial R U.S.

2008-10-06T12:40:00.001-07:00

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Cadillac Ranch Amarillo, TX ©2006 Photo by Emily Duffy

Some might say that we Americans have our heads buried in the sand, that we don't like to face hard truths, and that we're very slow to learn from our mistakes. On two counts I have to agree: oil and torture. We pretend there's plenty of one, and none of the other. Alas, the opposite is true.

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Cadillac Ranch Amarillo, TX ©2006 Photo by Emily Duffy

Even with oil at an all-time high cost, above $130 per barrel of crude, you'll still see hundreds of SUVs surrounding you on the freeway. You may even still be driving one yourself. We ironically put bumperstickers on our gas-guzzlers like "Keep Tahoe Blue" while driving around daily in the behemoths that are destroying such pristine wilderness as Lake Tahoe.

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Cadillac Ranch Amarillo, TX ©2006 Photo by Emily Duffy

How do we manage to be conservationists on the one hand, donating to the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, and on the other contributing to the daily destruction of our own habitat by using disposable products, littering, and wasting precious non-renewable resources? Indeed it would seem that when it comes to cars, oil use, and pollution our heads are buried in the sand (just like the Cadillacs installed nose-down in a Texas farm field by the artists of Ant Farm).

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Denial R. U.S. (Top half of diptych) ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Dimensions: 33” x 36” x 3” Diptych.
Description: A reinterpretation of the iconic Cadillac Ranch dealing with America’s addiction to cars, contrasted with images depicting the “water-boarding” of prisoners in American custody.
Materials: Toys, sand, plaster, metal, wood, canvas, and paint

There's no denying that oil is a finite resource. Although there's probably enough for us to use in our lifetimes, there won't be enough by the time our grandchildren are our age. Not only that, but the atmosphere, water, and land will be even more polluted by the continued use of oil. And who knows what the climate will be like by then, it's already been drastically affected by our behavior (no matter how the right wing tries to spin it).

Perhaps having our government run by oil men isn't such a good idea. Not to say that Bush and Cheney force you to drive your gas guzzler, but they sure don't try to talk you out of it, do they? Not only that, but all their buddies are making record profits on your addiction to their oil.

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Denial R. U.S. (Top half of diptych) ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

But we're basically good people, right? So why don't we change? It won't really take that much to do it, to give up oil. An excellent start is to make sure that John McCain and Sarah Palin never get the chance to continue the Bush/Cheney energy policies.

And you know there's another little thing we've been pretending not to know about, or have any say over, and that's torturing prisoners of war. This truth is even harder to face up to, but in order to heal our nation, and repair our reputation in the international community we must acknowledge that torture was, and STILL IS, being conducted in the name of the U.S.

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Denial R. U.S. ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

President Bush answering a question at a White House Press conference, referring to a report by the Red Cross:

"I haven't seen it. We don't torture. - August 9, 2007 Source

"It was one of the worst-kept secrets in the world — and on Wednesday, President Bush confirmed it: In a major speech about the war on terror, the president, for the first time, acknowledged the existence of secret CIA prisons around the world." -September 6, 2006 Source.

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Denial R. U.S. (Detail) ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

"Today the administration finally recognized that the protections of the Geneva Convention should be applied to prisoners in order to restore our moral authority and best protect American troops," said Sen. John Kerry, who lost to Mr. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. "Today's shift in policy follows the sad legacy of five years during which this administration abused our Constitution, violated our laws, and most importantly failed to make America safe." -September 6, 2006 Source

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Denial R. U.S. (Detail) ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

This , my dear friends, is what has been done in our names. It is still going on but at so-called "black sites" in far away lands where malleable governments are willing to look the other way. Spies and military contractors for our military violate human beings, our laws, and the most basic human rights in the name of American security. Don't shy away from the horrible images, don't pretend you don't know what we've done, and don't let it continue. It will continue if John McCain, a victim of torture himself, is elected as our next president.

NOTE: You're welcome to share my artwork and comments with anyone you think might appreciate them. But I ask that you give proper credit of these copyrighted works and link them back to this blog. None of this artwork may be used by others for profit of any kind.

Please help spread the link to this blog everywhere you can. This artwork was created for the purpose of making Americans think carefully about the kind of country they want this to be when they vote on November 4, 2008. Do they want a continuation of 8 years of fear, war, division, hate, economic drain, isolationism, and denial of science, climate change, and basic reality? If not, they need to vote for, support, donate to, and cover the back of the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama.

Democratic Spine

2008-10-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

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Democratic Spine ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Dimensions: 14" x 14" x 9"
Description: A mini coffin with a truncated human spine lays in a bed of velvet. The coffin is covered with quotes by Progressive, Democrats both recent and from history.
Materials: Wood, parchment reproductions of the Bill of Rights, burgundy velvet, metal hardware, paper, amber varnish.

I was so mad when my Senator (Dianne Feinstein) voted to give George W. Bush the power to invade Iraq, that I switched my lifelong voter registration from Democratic to the Green party. I was fed up with the spineless, waffling, weak-kneed Dems who simply refused to do anything to stop Bush's mad rush towards war and destruction. The only thing that brought me back and made me decide to fight the right wing takeover, was the improbable Presidential candidacy of Howard Dean. Like a canary in the political coalmine he blew the whistle on Democratic lawmaker's spinelessness. He made a dramatic speech at the California Democratic Convention, in March 2003:

What I want to know is what in the world so many Democrats are doing supporting the President's unilateral intervention in Iraq?

What I want to know is what in the world so many Democrats are doing supporting tax cuts, which have bankrupted this country and given us the largest deficit in the history of the United States?

What I want to know is why the Congress is fighting over the Patient's Bill of Rights? The Patient's Bill of Rights is a good bill, but not one more person gets health insurance and it's not 5 cents cheaper.

What I want to know is why the Democrats in Congress aren't standing up for us, joining every other industrialized country on the face of the Earth in providing health insurance for every man, woman and child in America.

What I want to know is why so many folks in Congress are voting for the President's Education Bill-- "The No School Board Left Standing Bill"-- the largest unfunded mandate in the history of our educational system! Source

The media and established Democrats claimed he was crazy but he was the inspiration for millions of regular citizens like me. His courage to boldly speak truth to power has led to a national grassroots movement unseen in this country for decades. This movement has embraced the historic candidacy of Barack Obama and hopefully is strong enough to propel him into the White House on November 4, 2008.

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Democratic Spine ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

The problem with paying attention to politics is that you often feel disappointed and disillusioned. I think that's why so many of us avoid it completely. I'm constantly battling the urge to walk away from it all but what keeps me working towards removing the radical right wing is remembering what happened to my great aunts, and uncles.

They were Hungarian Jews living in what became part of Romania after World War I. Some of them, including my maternal grandparents, emigrated to the U.S. in search of work. My grandmother was the youngest of 11 children, my grandfather the youngest of 13. Their marriage was arranged by the families when she was 19 and he was 21. Several of her brothers had previously married some of his sisters.

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Democratic Spine ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

They became U.S. citizens and lived the American dream. They worked hard, saved money, were able to buy a little property, and eventually send their one child, my mother, to college.

Unfortunately their brothers and sisters, who remained behind in Hungary and Romania, were caught up in World War II, put into Nazi concentration camps and eventually killed. No one from either family, who stayed in Europe, survived.

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Democratic Spine ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Perhaps you've heard of this poem, it was written by a
German, Lutheran pastor:

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
By Martin Niemöller

(Click on image for larger view)

Democratic Spine detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

This sculpture is aimed at the people who have sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution, to represent "we the people" in government, and to protect America's national interests, but have failed in their duty.

All my life I've been told, "it will never happen here" (meaning, facism in America) and yet every year of my life I've seen our country get closer to the same tendencies that evolved into Nazism in "Democratic" Germany. While I mostly blame greedy, insatiable, self-serving right-wing radicals for wanting to keep all of life's goodies for themselves, I hold those, who passively enable them to commit their crimes, in even lower regard.

NOTE: You're welcome to share my artwork and comments with anyone you think might appreciate them. But I ask that you give proper credit of these copyrighted works and link them back to this blog. None of this artwork may be used by others for profit of any kind.

Please help spread the link to this blog everywhere you can. This artwork was created for the purpose of making Americans think carefully about the kind of country they want this to be when they vote on November 4, 2008. Do they want a continuation of 8 years of fear, war, division, hate, economic drain, isolationism, and denial of science, climate change, and basic reality? If not, they need to vote for, support, donate to, and cover the back of the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama.

Bush's Blue Dress

2008-10-02T17:30:00.001-07:00

(Click image for larger view)

Bush's Blue Dress ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Dimensions: 58”x40”.
Description: Dress sewn of cut parchment replicas of the U.S. Constitution with blood stain over heart. (Started in 2008)
A hanger with American flag fabric and an eagle on it.
Materials: Like a lovely framed painting one might see in the National Gallery, the background fabric is burgundy brocade with fringe, velvet edges and gold braid nailed onto the wall. Gold metal hooks and grommets (in background fabric) hold the fabric and hanger up.

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Bush's Blue Dress Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

"Which is worse, screwing an intern or screwing an entire nation?" -Anon Circa 2003 America

"The Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal emerging from a sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a then 22-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The news of this extra-marital affair and the resulting investigation eventually led to the impeachment of President Clinton in 1998 by the U.S. House of Representatives and his subsequent acquittal on all charges (of perjury and obstruction of justice) in a 21-day Senate trial." Source

The $40 million dollar tax-payer financed "Starr Report" is the result.

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Bush's Blue Dress Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

A key piece of evidence in the case against Clinton was a semen-stained blue dress belonging to Lewinsky. The FBI tested the stain against blood drawn from President Clinton and considered it a close enough match. There was a lot of publicity and shaming of both Clinton and Lewinsky by the so-called "moral majority". Many of the Republicans attacking Clinton, for his sexual misadventures, were guilty of extra-marital (and worse activities) themselves. Even the Republican Speaker of the House at the time, Henry Hyde, was a known adulterer (as was fellow moralizer Newt Gingrich, along with dozens of other Republican sex-scamps.)

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Bush's Blue Dress Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

"Bush's Blue Dress" is a replica of Monica Lewinsky's infamous dress, the garment that brought down a president:

"Impeachment proceedings were initiated during the post-election, "lame duck" session of the outgoing 105th Congress. The committee hearings were perfunctory, but the floor debate in the whole House was spirited on both sides. The Speaker-designate Representative Bob Livingston, chosen by the Republican Party Conference to replace outgoing Speaker Newt Gingrich, announced the end of his candidacy for Speaker and his resignation from Congress from the floor of the house after Livingston's own marital infidelity came to light. Livingston, in that same speech, encouraged Clinton to resign as well. Clinton chose to remain in office and encouraged Livingston to reconsider resigning.[8] Contemporaneously, some media reported on house manager Henry Hyde's marital infidelity of several decades prior." -Source

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Bush's Blue Dress Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Ten years after Clinton's impeachment by the Republican-led Congress, George W. Bush committed impeachable offenses which he has yet to be held responsible for. He launched an invasion against the sovereign nation of Iraq based on documented false information. Bush's impeachable offenses have resulted in the deaths of more than 4000 American military personal and countless Iraqi and Afghan citizens.

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Bush's Blue Dress Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Bush's Blue Dress is stained with blood, my blood, American blood just like that which ran through the veins of more than 4000 dead soldiers. Dead for what? For a small man's ego and some stolen cash, nothing more...a waste, and an unforgivable crime.

NOTE: You're welcome to share my artwork and comments with anyone you think might appreciate them. But I ask that you give proper credit of these copyrighted works and link them back to this blog. None of this artwork may be used by others for profit of any kind.

Please help spread the link to this blog everywhere you can. This artwork was created for the purpose of making Americans think carefully about the kind of country they want this to be when they vote on November 4, 2008. Do they want a continuation of 8 years of fear, war, division, hate, economic drain, isolationism, and denial of science, climate change, and basic reality? If not, they need to vote for, support, donate to, and cover the back of the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama.

Dishonorable Mention

2008-09-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

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Dishonorable Mention ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Dimensions: 56” x 20”
Description: Oversized American flag award ribbon with presidential seal and articles of Impeachment from Bill Clinton's term contrasted with the documented, yet not acted-upon, impeachable offenses committed by George W. Bush.
Materials: Three American flags, Acetate, gold trim, iron on transfer of Presidential Seal, plastic needlepoint grid.

I've always been angry at the Republicans who insisted on wasting time, energy, and OUR MONEY trying to "get" the Clintons. From the day Bill Clinton became president the Republican-ruled Congress was determined to ruin him. Yet even with his philandering, and being dogged non-stop by a bunch of hypocritical moralizers, Clinton was able to create the most prosperous economic period in this country!

Since 2006 I've been angry at the Democratic-ruled Congress for NOT impeaching George W. Bush, (who as we well know is still trying to suck every last tax-payer dollar out of our treasury before he leaves in January 2009.) This sculpture is about that anger.

It's an over-sized county-fair style ribbon I made for the U.S. Congress in reference to their dereliction of duty. The following text is part of the sculpture:

Impeachment is the direct constitutional means for removing a President, Vice President or other civil officers of the United States who have acted or threatened acts that are serious offenses against the Constitution, its system of government, or the rule of law, or that are conventional crimes of such a serious nature that they would injure the Presidency if there was no removal.

In November 1998, A Republican-led House of Representatives began impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton:

Article I

In his conduct while President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has willfully corrupted and manipulated the judicial process of the United States for his personal gain and exoneration, impeding the administration of justice, in that:

On August 17, 1998, William Jefferson Clinton swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth before a Federal grand jury of the United States. Contrary to that oath, William Jefferson Clinton willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony to the grand jury concerning one or more of the following:

(1) the nature and details of his relationship with a subordinate Government employee;

(2) prior perjurious, false and misleading testimony he gave in a Federal civil rights action brought against him;

(3) prior false and misleading statements he allowed his attorney to make to a Federal judge in that civil rights action; and

(4) his corrupt efforts to influence the testimony of witnesses and to impede the discovery of evidence in that civil rights action.

In doing this, William Jefferson Clinton has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the Presidency, has betrayed his trust as President, and has acted in a manner subversive of the rule of law and justice, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, William Jefferson Clinton, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States. - Source

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Dishonorable Mention Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Ten Years Later, A Democratic-led House of Representatives has refused to initiate impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush for any of the following well-documented actions:

1) Seizing power to wage wars of aggression in defiance of the U.S. Constitution, the U.N. Charter and the rule of law; carrying out a massive assault on and occupation of Iraq, a country that was not threatening the United States, resulting in the death and maiming of over one hundred thousand Iraqis, and thousands of U.S. G.I.s.

2) Lying to the people of the U.S., to Congress, and to the U.N., providing false and deceptive rationales for war.

3) Authorizing, ordering and condoning direct attacks on civilians, civilian facilities and locations where civilian casualties were unavoidable.

4) Instituting a secret and illegal wiretapping and spying operation against the people of the United States through the National Security Agency.

5) Threatening the independence and sovereignty of Iraq by belligerently changing its government by force and assaulting Iraq in a war of aggression.

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Dishonorable Mention Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

6) Authorizing, ordering and condoning assassinations, summary executions, kidnappings, secret and other illegal detentions of individuals, torture and physical and psychological coercion of prisoners to obtain false statements concerning acts and intentions of governments and individuals and violating within the United States, and by authorizing U.S. forces and agents elsewhere, the rights of individuals under the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

7) Making, ordering and condoning false statements and propaganda about the conduct of foreign governments and individuals and acts by U.S. government personnel; manipulating the media and foreign governments with false information; concealing information vital to public discussion and informed judgment concerning acts, intentions and possession, or efforts to obtain weapons of mass destruction in order to falsely create a climate of fear and destroy opposition to U.S. wars of aggression and first strike attacks.

8) Violations and subversions of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, both a part of the "Supreme Law of the land" under Article VI, paragraph 2, of the Constitution, in an attempt to commit with impunity crimes against peace and humanity and war crimes in wars and threats of aggression against Afghanistan, Iraq and others and usurping powers of the United Nations and the peoples of its nations by bribery, coercion and other corrupt acts and by rejecting treaties, committing treaty violations, and frustrating compliance with treaties in order to destroy any means by which international law and institutions can prevent, affect, or adjudicate the exercise of U.S. military and economic power against the international community.

9) Acting to strip United States citizens of their constitutional and human rights, ordering indefinite detention of citizens, without access to counsel, without charge, and without opportunity to appear before a civil judicial officer to challenge the detention, based solely on the discretionary designation by the Executive of a citizen as an "enemy combatant."

10) Ordering indefinite detention of non-citizens in the United States and elsewhere, and without charge, at the discretionary designation of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Defense.

11) Ordering and authorizing the Attorney General to override judicial orders of release of detainees under INS jurisdiction, even where the judicial officer after full hearing determines a detainee is wrongfully held by the government.

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Dishonorable Mention Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

12) Authorizing secret military tribunals and summary execution of persons who are not citizens who are designated solely at the discretion of the Executive who acts as indicting official, prosecutor and as the only avenue of appellate relief.

13) Refusing to provide public disclosure of the identities and locations of persons who have been arrested, detained and imprisoned by the U.S. government in the United States, including in response to Congressional inquiry.

14) Use of secret arrests of persons within the United States and elsewhere and denial of the right to public trials.

15) Authorizing the monitoring of confidential attorney-client privileged communications by the government, even in the absence of a court order and even where an incarcerated person has not been charged with a crime.

16) Ordering and authorizing the seizure of assets of persons in the United States, prior to hearing or trial, for lawful or innocent association with any entity that at the discretionary designation of the Executive has been deemed "terrorist."

17) Engaging in criminal neglect in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, depriving thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and other Gulf States of urgently needed support, causing mass suffering and unnecessary loss of life.

18) Institutionalization of racial and religious profiling and authorization of domestic spying by federal law enforcement on persons based on their engagement in noncriminal religious and political activity.

19) Refusal to provide information and records necessary and appropriate for the constitutional right of legislative oversight of executive functions.

20) Rejecting treaties protective of peace and human rights and abrogation of the obligations of the United States under, and withdrawal from, international treaties and obligations without consent of the legislative branch, and including termination of the ABM treaty between the United States and Russia, and rescission of the authorizing signature from the Treaty of Rome which served as the basis for the International Criminal Court. Source

NOTE: You're welcome to share my artwork and comments with anyone you think might appreciate them. But I ask that you give proper credit of these copyrighted works and link them back to this blog. None of this artwork may be used by others for profit of any kind.

Please help spread the link to this blog everywhere you can. This artwork was created for the purpose of making Americans think carefully about the kind of country they want this to be when they vote on November 4, 2008. Do they want a continuation of 8 years of fear, war, division, hate, economic drain, isolationism, and denial of science, climate change, and basic reality? If not, they need to vote for, support, donate to, and cover the back of the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama.

Lost Treasure

2008-09-19T22:56:00.000-07:00

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Lost Treasure ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Dimensions: 29" x 29" x 21"
Description: Small wood coffin filled with gold soldiers and coins. Inside, lid has an abused reproduction of the Bill of Rights (burned, torn, dragged through the mud, bled on) and an American flag on outside. Base has pertinent news clippings.
Materials: Wood, burgundy velvet, metal, paper, toy soldiers, gold coins (plastic) gold metallic paint, amber varnish.

As of today the George W. Bush's Iraq Misadventure has cost the U.S. economy $556 billion, and lost 4,168 American lives (that we know of). Is it worth it?

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Lost Treasure ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Some of us knew (even without the benefit of access to clandestine intelligence) that Iraq was not the nation that harbored al-Qaeda. Afghanistan was and now Pakistan is. Iraq was completely uninvolved in the attacks of 9/11 on New York City and Washington D.C. How is it that you and I knew that all along but our government, with all its spies and surveillance equipment didn't? Are we even safer since George W. Bush invaded Iraq?

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Lost Treasure ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Besides the terrible loss of lives, and gobs of our hard-earned money, what else has this illegal war in Iraq cost us? The so-called "Patriot Act", now in it's second version, is,

...fundamentally flawed because it relies on a false premise - that America can be safer if we do away with basic checks and balances. By undermining the role of the courts, Congress and the press in providing a real check on Executive power, Patriot Act 2 directs its ire at the institutions of American democracy instead of at the terrorists that threaten it. In so doing, it threatens to undermine the rights of ordinary people, not terrorists. -Source

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Lost Treasure ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

NOTE: You're welcome to share my artwork and comments with anyone you think might appreciate them. But I ask that you give proper credit of these copyrighted works and link them back to this blog. None of this artwork may be used by others for profit of any kind.

Please help spread the link to this blog everywhere you can. This artwork was created for the purpose of making Americans think carefully about the kind of country they want this to be when they vote on November 4, 2008. Do they want a continuation of 8 years of fear, war, division, hate, economic drain, isolationism, and denial of science, climate change, and basic reality? If not, they need to vote for, support, donate to, and cover the back of the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama.

Constitutional Crazy Quilt

2008-09-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

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Constitutional Crazy Quilt ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Dimensions: 90” x 70” x 4”
Description: "Crazy" style quilt sewn with reproductions of the U.S. Constitution, bordered by burgundy velvet, GOP appliquéd patches, and charms of tanks, machine guns, coffins, Christian crosses, and soldiers. It hangs from a gold painted curtain rod. The quilt is backed with burgundy jacquard fabric.
Materials: Parchment paper, fabric, metal, and upholstery tassels.

Today, September 17th, is Constitution Day celebrating the day on which the founding document of our nation's laws was signed 221 years ago. It's a relatively new national holiday (only four years old) but no less important than marking the signing of the Declaration of Independence (July 4th.)

"What began as an American experiment - the first constitution created by the deliberation of elected representatives rather than by the force of a single leader - is now the longest-living constitution in the world." - Source (with a quiz)

Ironic that at this very moment in history we have a President and a Vice President who have done more to dismantle the U.S. Constitution than any other in our short years of nationhood.

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Constitutional Crazy Quilt Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

"The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It provides the framework for the organization of the United States Government. The document defines the three main branches of the government: The legislative branch with a bicameral Congress, an executive branch led by the President, and a judicial branch headed Supreme Court. Besides providing for the organization of these branches, the Constitution carefully outlines which powers each branch may exercise. It also reserves numerous rights for the individual states, thereby establishing the United States' federal system of government.

The United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later ratified by conventions in each state in the name of "The People"; it has since been amended twenty-seven times, the first ten amendments being known as the Bill of Rights. The Constitution has a central place in United States law and political culture." Source

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Constitutional Crazy Quilt Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

The Democratic Party currently holds a majority in the House of Representatives (only since the 2006 election) which they recovered after more than a decade of corrupt Republican rule. Unfortunately the Senate is still held hostage by right wing radicals with only a 51 to 49 margin held by Democrats and a 2/3 majority required to pass most legislation.

Additionally, George W. Bush has already had the opportunity to appoint two conservative judges to the U.S. Supreme Court. The next president will certainly be required to appoint one, perhaps two more judges. Right now four of the nine Supremes are right wingers (Chief Justice Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, and Alito.) Justices Gingsberg, and Bryer are considered the most liberal with Souter and Stevens (moderates) usually siding with them. Kennedy , generally thought of as a conservative is very often the swing vote in many cases - Source.

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Constitutional Crazy Quilt Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage.

Read the "Contract with America" and see how little of these promises the Republicans have delivered on. In fact for the most part they've delivered the opposite of this pledge they signed back in 1994.

NOTE: You're welcome to share my artwork and comments with anyone you think might appreciate them. But I ask that you give proper credit of these copyrighted works and link them back to this blog. None of this artwork may be used by others for profit of any kind.

Please help spread the link to this blog everywhere you can. This artwork was created for the purpose of making Americans think carefully about the kind of country they want this to be when they vote on November 4, 2008. Do they want a continuation of 8 years of fear, war, division, hate, economic drain, isolationism, and denial of science, climate change, and basic reality? If not, they need to vote for, support, donate to, and cover the back of the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama.

Midas Touch

2008-09-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

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Midas Touch ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Dimensions: 42” x 24” x 8”
Description: A wedge-shaped wall hanging simulates a cliff. A toy gas tanker is about to topple off the edge while a chain of elephants (collaged in the U.S. Constitution, and GOP applique patches) march across it’s back. Oversized soldiers defend the tanker. The strata of the cliff is built up from a mound of soldiers, military equipment, then gas-guzzling automobiles.
Materials: Plastic toys, metal, paper, plaster, wood, gold metallic paint, reproductions of the U.S. Constitution, Republican Party logo patches.

This sculpture was inspired by greed. Like the tale of King Midas recent American history (particularly the period beginning with Ronald Regan era Laissez-faire economics) has focused on personal wealth creation above the enrichment of communities or the nation as a whole.

The Republican anti-tax ideology promotes what they call "small" government which they believe should not interfere with anything business wishes to do in pursuit of profit. For more than a decade now Americans for Tax Reform founder Grover Norquist has been pushing the inaccurate philosophy that the market would be self-regulating and self-correcting, that profits from billionaires would "trickle-down" to middle and lower class Americans and everyone was going to get rich. The result of the realization of this philosophy has resulted in a turn-around from Bill Clinton's term as President (a Federal budget SURPLUS of $559 billion in 2001) to George W. Bush's current Federal DEFICIT of $407 billion in 2008.

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Midas Touch Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

What happened instead is that greed ran rampant and multi-national corporations became so corrupt that several large firms exploded into ruin. The most egregious case (so far) being the meltdown of Enron Energy Corporation.

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Midas Touch Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

The Republican Party has been intimately involved in this corruption and in fact lobbyists and lawmakers (via revolving door) from the energy, banking, military, and war reconstruction, sectors have funded the past decade of Republican rule. Today's meltdown of Lehman Brothers is just the latest in a long series of bungled financial schemes right-wing ideology has caused.

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Midas Touch Detail ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Republican Presidential candidate, John McCain has dozens of lobbyists both staffing and advising his campaign. Yet McCain claims to be an agent of change and a maverick. How the American press can still call him either of these things when he's voted with President Bush more than 90% of the time over the past 8 years is insane.

The Midas Touch sculpture is a warning that we not let the Republican Party drive us all over the symbolic cliff with their greed and refusal to allow REAL change (such as moving away from an oil-based economy.)

NOTE: You're welcome to share my artwork and comments with anyone you think might appreciate them. But I ask that you give proper credit of these copyrighted works and link them back to this blog. None of this artwork may be used by others for profit of any kind.

Please help spread the link to this blog everywhere you can. This artwork was created for the purpose of making Americans think carefully about the kind of country they want this to be when they vote on November 4, 2008. Do they want a continuation of 8 years of fear, war, division, hate, economic drain, isolationism, and denial of science, climate change, and basic reality? If not, they need to vote for, support, donate to, and cover the back of the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama.

Constitutional Doublecross

2008-09-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

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Constitutional Doublecross ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Dimensions: 58.75" x 41.25" x 4.50".
Description: Paper cross mounted on maroon velvet in gold wood frame.
Materials: Wood, shredded of reproductions the U.S. Constitution and relevant newspaper clippings (woven together), velvet, gold paint, GOP logo, glass beads.

I began this sculpture four years ago. I remember that because I sat weaving the cross together while watching the 2004 Winter Olympics on television. Watching young athletes from around the world assemble together without trying to kill each other always makes me wonder why their governments can't get along as well.

America was one year into Bush's preemptive Iraq war, and was bullying the entire world to follow him. His cabinet and staff were busy breaking international laws (and those of human decency) and defying our own historic goals of liberty and justice. I couldn't make sense of why so many self-proclaimed "good Christians" wanted to kill and destroy so much of the world. I still don't understand that enormous contradiction in their ideology.

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Constitutional Doublecross - Detail of Elephant ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

The inspiration (or revulsion) that inspired this piece was the intentional blurring of the boundary between Church and State by leaders of the Republican Party. This takeover was instigated by so called "neo-conservatives" who were warmly embraced by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. This group came to absolute power with George W. Bush's presidency in 2001.

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Constitutional Doublecross - Detail of bottom of cross ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Between 1775 and 1791 Americans conceived, fought for, and established a new nation. This new nation, as Thomas Jefferson explained in the Declaration of Independence in 1776, was based on the proposition that all persons are created equal, that they have inherent natural rights to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," that "to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed," and that "it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish" any form of government that does not secure the rights of the people.

Although the new Constitution represented the greatest single advance in the long evolution of democracy and freedom, it was viewed by many, including Jefferson, as containing a serious defect, the absence of an explicit bill of rights. Ratification of the new charter of government hinged on the promises of politicians to add a bill of rights to the Constitution as soon as possible; promises carried out by the First Congress, which in 1789 proposed amendments which were ratified by the states by the end of 1791. - Source

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Constitutional Doublecross - Detail with Ashcroft ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

The Constitution they created limited the federal government to purely secular matters. Further, Article VI of the Constitution, in an important departure from colonial practice, stipulated that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." The same article also prohibited mandatory oaths, by providing that all members of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches "both of the United States and of the several states" may be bound by either an "oath or affirmation" (italics supplied) to support the Constitution.

Thus the Constitution implies the principle of separation of church and state. - Source

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Constitutional Doublecross - Detail of side ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

This radical right wing takeover of the GOP began decades ago concurrent with the founding and funding of fundamentalist Christian think tanks and mega-churches. The film Jesus Camp does a great job of documenting the mentality of the people on the religious side of this repressive movement, and why they must be stopped from imposing their beliefs on the rest of us.

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Constitutional Doublecross - Detail of child ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

ACTION

Read more about protecting the boundaries between Church and State in American government:

Americans United

People for the American Way

Americans for Religious Liberty

Interfaith Alliance

NOTE: You're welcome to share my artwork and comments with anyone you think might appreciate them. But I ask that you give proper credit of these copyrighted works and link them back to this blog. None of this artwork may be used by others for profit of any kind.

Please help spread the link to this blog everywhere you can. This artwork was created for the purpose of making Americans think carefully about the kind of country they want this to be when they vote on November 4, 2008. Do they want a continuation of 8 years of fear, war, division, hate, economic drain, isolationism, and denial of science, climate change, and basic reality? If not, they need to vote for, support, donate to, and cover the back of the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama.

With Us or Agin' Us

2008-09-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

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With Us or Agin’ Us ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Dimensions: 52”x24”x36”
Description: Hanging globe on flagpole. (Started in 2003)
Materials: USSR-era paper globe with maps of Texas covering all major land masses, wooden flagpole covered with news headlines about Iraq, noose made out of American flag material, and metal flag holder.

This first piece in my Elephant in the Room series was inspired by George W. Bush’s statement to so-called “coalition partners” (aka “the Coalition of the Willing”). He said: “You’re either with us or against us.” - November 6, 2001

"A coalition partner must do more than just express sympathy, a coalition partner must perform," Bush said. "That means different things for different nations. Some nations don't want to contribute troops and we understand that. Other nations can contribute intelligence-sharing. ... But all nations, if they want to fight terror, must do something."

Bush said he would not point out any specific countries in his speech.

"Over time it's going to be important for nations to know they will be held accountable for inactivity," he said. "You're either with us or against us in the fight against terror."

Bush said threats by Osama bin Laden to use weapons of mass destruction must be taken seriously. "This is an evil man that we're dealing with, and I wouldn't put it past him to develop evil weapons to try to harm civilization as we know it," Bush said. "And that's why we must prevail, and that's why we must win." - Source

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With Us or Agin’ Us - Detail of the Americas ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

This statement, and hundreds more that followed out of George W. Bush's mouth, showed he is a bully who insists on categorizing complex political issues into black-and-white sound bites. Unfortunately, he was able to use the past credibility of our country, and mountains of cash, to convince a reluctant "coalition of the willing".

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With Us or Agin’ Us - Detail of the flagpole (Fallujah) ©2008
Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

The thought that came to my mind was that Bush was trying to turn the entire world into annexes of Texas, and that by leveraging our previous goodwill with the world he had the entire globe in a stranglehold. Therefore, the sculpture has every major landmass covered with maps of Texas and the globe is hanging by a noose made from American flag fabric.

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With Us or Agin’ Us - Detail of Asia & Europe ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

This was all just fine for an American populace who at the time was more interested in living the good life than paying much attention to current events. Now, however, that has thankfully changed. Americans in record numbers are becoming politically active and the recent Democratic and Republican conventions drew record television viewership. An informed, educated, and angry public is very bad for the GOP's right-wing agenda.

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With Us or Agin’ Us - Detail of Australia ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

NOTE: You're welcome to share my artwork and comments with anyone you think might appreciate them. But I ask that you give proper credit of these copyrighted works and link them back to this blog. None of this artwork may be used by others for profit of any kind.

Please help spread the link to this blog everywhere you can. This artwork was created for the purpose of making Americans think carefully about the kind of country they want this to be when they vote on November 4, 2008. Do they want a continuation of 8 years of fear, war, division, hate, economic drain, isolationism, and denial of science, climate change, and basic reality? If not, they need to vote for, support, donate to, and cover the back of the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama.

Coming Soon!!!

2008-08-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

Detail from Constitutional Doublecross 2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

Welcome to the site of my upcoming exhibit of mixed-media sculptures. I'll be showing the sculptures themselves at True World Gallery next month, starting October 11, 2008. True World Gallery will be exhibiting this work in collaboration with neighboring Red Arrow Gallery under the title "11th Hour". The dual-gallery exhibit will be located just a few miles from one of the nation's largest Marine bases, Twentynine Palms.

I'm hoping my art will change some minds, and some votes, away from the Republican pro-war policies of John McCain, and toward Barack Obama's withdrawal plans for our troops in Iraq. Our nation simply can't stand another GOP administration!

My exhibit is also part of a national effort by artists who create political work. Art of Democracy is a network of exhibitions and events taking place in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, St. Louis, Puerto Rico, and more locations.

Along with a vast myriad of political organizations, artists all across this great country are pitching in to help save America from continued ruin by radical right-wing politicians.

Please visit my regular BLOG for news and action items. I post there almost daily.