No Place on Earth: A Creative Approach to Water Pollution
Theme: Where do we go for fresh drinking water when the water of our world becomes so polluted and toxic to us (and our food sources, both flora and fauna) that we can no longer use it?
- Andy Warhol
- The Yes Men
- Theories rooted in Mechanical Reproduction, capitalism and commodity, Simulacra and Simulation
To my research I was shocked to find the high amount of chemical and pharmaceutical pollutants that were introduced into our drinking water by human consumption and how ill-equipped our water treatment facilities are for dealing with them. Some of the most common of these include herbicides, antibiotics, stimulants such as caffeine, pain relievers such as ibuprofen, and hormones such as those used for birth.
An artistic response to contemporary assumptions and representations of masculinity (and hyper-masculinity) in American culture and media; Masculism is a mixed media/readymade construct. The work consists of a blue glass Ball mason jar which contains dozens of M.U.S.C.L.E. Men, small wrester figurines/toys from the 1980s. The acronym stands for “Millions of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking Everywhere”; the color of the hard plastic toys was predominately pink (or flesh colored) though some were later cast in green, blue and purple as well, this aspect of the toys allows the work to address racial minority as part of the its commentary.
The works represents masculinity and its perception/gender performance in a myriad of ways. The layers of symbolism range from the innuendo found in the Ball container, with its blue color and the numerous little men inside waiting for release; to the relics of hyper masculinity as it was represented in the 1980s, and the predominantly pink plastic coloring, which contrasts to the darker colored blue and purple counterparts that are clearly of the minority within the jar. This work uses the whimsical and nostalgic aspects of pop-culture to capture the viewer’s attention while subtlety prompting them to think about their own views and assumptions about masculinity when contrasted with feminist theory.