Mixed Media on canvas – 3′ x 5′ – $2,500

This painting was done in several layers. The first layer is collage taken mostly from LIFE & Rolling Stones magazine. The images vary in size but are approximately 1 to 3″ in diameter. After the collage was finished the next layer was a transparent coat of acrylics depicting the American Flag. After that another transparent coat was used to depict the 20 Dollar bill and Andrew Jackson. the final layer is the images of the Lakota medicine man Sitting Bull, Christian prophet Jesus Christ and American Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King. The lettering on the image is cut from matte board and glued on the painting. The top text was copied from a popular photo from the great depression in which black migrant workers were standing under a billboard depicting a white family in a car with the above text. I named the painting American History 101 because I feel Americans either choose to ignore our past or simply know nothing about it. This painting is an example of this ignorance. While on display in a local comedy club (with some of my other pieces) an audience member scrolled the word FREEDOM across it with a sharpie. (I have since repaired it). After being arrested he told police officers that he didn’t like the piece because it depicted our history falsely. Like I said, ignorance is bliss. The offender ended up paying me $1,250 dollars for damages and hopefully he got a history lesson.

It took me 16 months to complete this piece.