The New World’s Order

I found a military hospital stretcher among trash laid out on an Upper West Side Manhattan street. Certainly, this stretcher had seen action. Its history was revealed when I bathed it in the shower, removing some pigmentation and stains of oil and blood. The hue of its cleansed canvas resembled that of a well-circulated U.S. dollar bill. Having considered the meaning of the dollar's symbols and slogans (see Right on the Money!), I felt compelled to incorporate them in a creative piece. This stretcher provided an ideal context to make a statement that could make a difference.

"ONE," both halves of The Great Seal, "UNITED STATES," and "IN GOD WE TRUST" are adapted to the canvas in a fashion that encourages the viewer to consider the piece in the round. This circular arrangement of "ONE" inspired a design I created shortly thereafter (see A New Age). The other circularly arranged words may also be read vertically as well, declaring "UNITED IN GOD" and "STATES WE TRUST." Atop the stretcher hangs my father's U.S. Army helmet with "PINO" boldly lettered on its front. Lower, hangs my bolt-action toy rifle, loaded with its solitary spring action golden bullet. Pinned to its shoulder strap is a stars and stripes campaign button that simply boasts "It's great to be an AMERICAN." Below, there lies a U.S. Navy gas mask. I used all these implements of war during my childhood while "playing Vietnam" with my brother and neighborhood boys in our backyard.

Not only did our soldiers serve in Vietnam, our culture was served Vietnam. Through television and our daily life we saw action stateside. Both of my parents were high school teachers, seeing many of "their kids" serve. Some returned to report back with altered states of consciousness, touching my folks deeply. Meanwhile, my 1968 second grade class pen palled with our teacher's brother's platoon. They received our lessons in letter writing and even some surprise Christmas packages. In exchange, we received grateful responses from our platoon pals. In late March, we were not allowed to contact them during the time our class was lead by a substitute teacher. Later, we discovered that our teacher was "out sick," for her brother and our entire platoon had been killed. Consequently, we all were moved to protest the "war effort."

From beneath the mask emerges a dark figure with protruding hands rising above a pool of blood, thrusting the stretcher high for all to see. Its black hexagonal base suggests this is a sacred offering signifying the constancy of corruption, destruction, grief, renunciation, and sadness. Although not specifically intended as such, many viewers respond to this piece as a memorial. A question appears upon the mask's lifesaving canister, "Does America wage war for the values on a dollar, or the value of a dollar?"

My father found a misguided target bomb in the woods where he hunts deer. Certainly, it made more of an impression on us children than a rack of antlers or venison. For years I saved it in its original condition until an opportunity arose in a college workshop to buff and sand it clear of rust. Later, I fashioned it into a multidimensional memorial when Andy Warhol died. Although not particularly influenced by his artistry, I admired Warhol's ability for creating an art industry that came to epitomize the outlandish nature of the contemporary art world. His seemingly meaningless Campbell's Soup can paintings inspired me to create a meaningful tribute with another can label.

The year of Warhol's death also marked the 50th anniversary of Spam. I chose to paint a Spam label on the bomb because of its popularity as a wartime canned meat product. However, I took the liberty of making a few changes: "Ingredients: Chopped pork shoulder meat with ham meat added and salt, water, sugar, sodium nitrate." became "Ingredients: Salty carnage of flesh and blood with active unbalanced cultures." "Suggested Serving" became "Selected Service," and "NET WT. 12 OZ. (340 g)" became "NET WT. 12 MEGATONS." Also "PULL TAB" became "PULL IT," echoing a command that fires heavy artillery, while encouraging the phallic association with the bomb's puckered head and vertical shaft, painted to resemble an erect penis symbolizing the aggressive male energy that dominates the nature of war.

While waiting in a supermarket checkout line, I spotted the front page of a tabloid proclaiming Hitler was alive! The cover's computer-generated image of Hitler as a centenarian sported his distinctive cropped moustache. Suddenly aware of my Quaker Oates container, working its way along the conveyor, I positioned my hands upon its front to view only the Quaker Oates man's face. Then imagined him with a Hitler moustache. There were striking similarities between his contrived face and the computer-generated face of Hitler. The notion of an elderly war-loving Hitler as a plump peace-loving Quaker was particularly amusing. For the irony of contradiction, this image was added to the bomb's antiwar label, surrounded by the words "UNORTHODOX QUAKER": "UNORTHODOX" punning Hitler's anti-Semitic nature, and the nature of (pig) meat associated with the original product label. "QUAKER" refers to the nature of a bomb explosion while contrasting the peaceful nature of Quakers. These words and their accompanying image both serve to entitle the piece and provide some comic relief.

This bomb's fins are thrust in a milk bucket overflowing with fragments of blood-red glass, symbolizing the profusion of disintegration in an unbalanced militaristic culture that milks the lifeblood from its citizens. Coincidentally, Leonardo da Vinci was responsible for creating the finned projectile, making this piece a tribute to the superfluous creations of two renowned artists. Certainly, seemingly serendipitous circumstances constituted this memorial's creation.