Bad Religion First Run

I stopped by our local Habitat for Humanity Restore this weekend in Collinsville and picked up what I think is a 1970's circa sky light. The backing glass is a unique amber color with a pattern of raised circles. After wrestling with the glass (and cutting myself several times) I made some adjustments and have a medium that I think will make a great backdrop for this piece. My son, Benjamin, helped do the print in white on the interior of the clear glass front of the box. I am extremely excited about the potential!

My goal with this concept "Bad Religion" is not an anti-American protest, but to challenge the idea that the answer to the world's problems is the gospel of America. Liberty is great, freedom is imperative, but ultimately even the American system is flawed. The idea that we need to evangelize the world and make converts of all nations into new "Americas" is what the title is trying to convey, Bad Religion.

I drew from my Catholic upbringing to portray the Statue of Liberty and Uncle Sam as the Madonna and Child, which is how we seem to try to convey our American system to the world. My goal is to finish this piece with some gold guilding and scarlet and purple accents to contrast the amber backing glass.

The Freedom Series Show is UP!

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The Freedom Series is my artistic response to governmental regimes that use violence and oppression against their own men, women and children.

In these three pieces, “The Price of Freedom” (Left), “Embracing Freedom” (Top Right), and “Freedom For The Children” (Bottom Right) I am trying to convey the despair of these people, who are seeking the basic freedoms that I take for granted.

Sometimes there are those who pay a great price to purchase a freedom that they will never be able to enjoy, but maybe, if we don’t ignore it,  their sacrifice will change the world for the ones following behind.

In trying to convey the violence of these moments, I asked my friend Ethan Crane, to shoot holes in the artwork. He brought several different types of firearms to an open field and proceeded to execute the images. I had worked for hours creating these pieces and was very conflicted about the idea of destroying them. The experience was surreal and I literally went to bed that night with a stomach ache, how much guilt the oppressors must carry for destroying their own people.

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Embrace Freedom

23” x 24”

Latex and Acrylic on Styrofoam

$100.00

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Freedom for the Children

Glass Framed

24” x 30”

Latex on Paper

$125.00

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Freedom for the Children

18” x 24”

Latex and Acrylic on Styrofoam

$100.00

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Price of Freedom

Gunshot Red

24” x 48” x 3”

Latex and Acrylic on Styrofoam

$175.00

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Price of Freedom

Broken Glass

24” x 48” x 3”

Glass, Latex and Acrylic on Styrofoam

$200.00

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Price of Freedom

Mottled Concrete

24” x 48” x 3”

Concrete, Latex and Acrylic on Styrofoam

$175.00

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Price of Freedom

Concrete Red

24” x 48” x 3”

Concrete, Latex and Acrylic on Styrofoam

$175.00

These pieces are on display through the end of July at Adam Brother's Coffe

110 S 2nd St., Greenville, IL 62246