"Patriotic Duty"
The idea for this piece was born in the days shortly following 9-11. Top
government officials suggested to its citizens that, to best aid in our
new war cause, we should: "Go out and spend." Amidst the backdrop of an
already falling stock market and the loss of jobs overseas, the citizen
consumer, upon whom our economic stimulus rests, was implored to do our
"Patriotic Duty." By decree, our government created mighty weapons for
this war--easy credit, tax breaks, and low priced goods produced in
foreign sweatshops-abandoning us citizens to live on "borrowed time."
I attempt to portray the plight of US citizens on two levels: Lady
Liberty as consumer in the foreground; the common citizen as victim,
buffeted by economic forces, in the background. My Lady Liberty is a
bronzed figure, possessing an inert, lifeless quality. Her eyes no
longer see and her lips are frozen. Her original meaning has been
perverted. Surrounded by a burning cataclysmic stock market and people
trapped in personal cogs of survival, our modern Lady is oblivious to
the chaos. She holds a meaningless card (a ticket for entry) for
participation in an increasingly meaningless society.
