ARTIST'S STATEMENT

In this show, I present a chronology of how young Americans are educated to war via pop propaganda such as war model boxes, war film advertising and war (nose) art, by recontextualizing my own contemporary historical painting into those pop art forms. Media presents war as fast, fun and sexy; through satire, I disagree. The commercialization of U.S history, news as entertainment and government propaganda inspire me.

While cigarette ads are banned for the sake of children, war machines and scenes of terror are emblazoned. "Skill Level 2, good for ages 8 and up." Displaying my fond memories of model kits, I design new boxes with true war horrors ("Guantanamo Guard Dog," "U.S. Occupation," "Easy-to-Build I.E.D's"), showing just how youthful imagination is pollinated by the obscenities of power.

Through disaster movie production art and advertising for a fictional 9/11 blockbuster, "AMERICAN HERO," I give a glimpse of actual 9/11 heroes (based on oral accounts) in the fictional context of story boards, special F/X art and movie standees, positing the cardboard boundary between fiction and nonfiction.

"Nose art" paintings on canvas military Humvee doors ("Jackie Iraqi," "Stella Stealth," "Abu Babe") present contemporary military events stripped of their nostalgic patina. My "nose art" revels in war advertising's perverse eroticization - its inherently dehumanizing sexist, racist and religious text.

Marketing forms are reality-altering forms. They take the horrific and humdrum and make them exciting. Instant Classic! The methodology for creating "instant classics" is worth exploring. The illustration. The graphic design. The salesmanship. In my work, these are applied not to huckstering some dull plastic toy, but to communicating truth: That we treat guard dogs better than human beings. That the U.S. government is occupied by a sadistic, capitalist regime. That to 99.9% of the world, 9/11 was a hit TV movie. I think the art is the box. The content is the packaging.

Wayne Coe
2007