artwork
New York Times
The Dead Soldier Project has been reactivated, and is now called Fallen Quilt. It is in my current two-person show, Empire Falls, at Flanders Gallery in Raleigh, NC.
I started the Dead Soldiers Project when the number of US soldiers killed in Afghanistan (and/or Iraq; it's been so long I can't even remember) reached 1,000. The Times printed a tiny picture of each dead (American) soldier, along with their name, age and hometown. These thousand faces, with just the briefest identifying information called out to be made into something beyond a statistic, so I saved them and started to make a quilt out of them. When the number reached 2,000, then 3,000 and 4,000, I realized it would never end. I couldn't go on processing these deaths. This project will never be finished.
This series is made from pieces of the daily newspaper of record. I used to subscribe to the print edition and saved parts for future use. The Answers is made of years' worth of the answers to the daily crossword puzzle cut out, dipped in beeswax and stacked. You never know when you'll need an answer so it's nice to have some stored up.
Do you need an answer? Do you need an answer right now? Why yes, I have an answer for you.
This double frame, in the style of tramp art, is an homage to the leading lights of New York art criticism, Jerry and Roberta. Now that Jerry no longer works at the Village Voice, it's a bit outdated, but they still help frame the discourse.
