Imperfect Union (Merry Karnowsky Gallery)

From The Giant: The Definitive Obey Giant Site

Jump to: navigation, search
Imperfect-u-poster-2.jpg

Official press release annoucing Imperfect Union:

IMPERFECT UNION

Solo Exhibition

Merry Karnowsky Gallery


Imperfect Union, a solo exhibit of new works by Shepard Fairey. This show displays a provocative collection of politically charged paintings, screen prints, stencils, album covers and mixed media pieces rich with metaphor, humor and seductive decorative elements. Imperfect Union is derived from the first line of the U.S. Constitution “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union”. For Shepard Fairey, critiquing the imperfect union, far from disparaging the United States, is a patriotic step toward shaping a more perfect union.

The exhibition is comprised of artworks which scrutinize the dynamics of the imperfect union such as the unholy union of government and big business and the dichotomy of symbols and methods associated with ideologies of the American Dream. Fairey’s artwork comments on underpinnings of the capitalist machine and monolithic institutional authority critiquing those who support blind nationalism and war. Conversely, Fairey recognizes that most individuals would rather suffer than stand up for their beliefs as illuminatingly expressed in the Declaration of Independence with the statement “all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” Fairey celebrates the role of counter culture, and independent individuals willing to question the cultural paradigm and advocate peace. Fairey employs the graphic language of the subjects he critiques or celebrates blending Art Nouveau, hippie, currency and revolutionary propaganda styles. His works utilize bold iconography coupled with decorative elements and, upon closer inspection, reveal sophisticated layers of collage. The resulting pieces are both boldly aggressive and seductively subtle.


December 1, 2007 - January 14, 2008

Opening Reception: Saturday, December 1, 8-11pm


Merry Karnowsky Gallery
170 South La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90036
Voice 323.933.4408 Fax 323.935.4406
Email: mkultra@flash.net


© Copyright

This page contains an image or images of drawings, paintings, photographs, prints, or other two-dimensional works of art, for which the copyright is presumably owned by either the artist who produced the image, the person who commissioned the work, or the heirs thereof. It is believed that the use of low-resolution images of works of art for critical commentary on the work in question, the artistic genre or technique of the work of art, or the school to which the artist belongs on the English-language website thegiant.org, hosted on servers in the United States, qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law.
GiantAttention.gif This article on Imperfect Union (Merry Karnowsky Gallery) is a stub. Please help us by expanding it!