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Project Statement

What Are Words  is a series of charcoal drawings on paper.  The title of the series is taken from a Missing Persons song from the 80’s that asks, “What are words for, when no one listens anymore”.  Utilizing direct quotes from the President and his administration, I drew these texts as William Morris wallpaper designs rendered with Facebook’s typography to question the power of words in contemporary times.  I am interested in how we as a culture are able to “wallpaper” over the content of what our leaders say in public and ignore the gravity of what lies underneath. 

Depending on what side of the fence you are on, one can read them as positive, neutral, or negative. For example, the drawing that has the words “Individual-1” is a clear reference to Trump but along the bottom is barbed wire that runs across the picture plane.  At first it may read as imprisoning Trump but depending on one’s perspective because the wire goes across the picture plane, it is either enclosing Trump as the prisoner of his own words or it can be read as we (the viewer) are the prisoners of his words. It is all in the perspective of the viewer and how they read the content which I think perfectly illustrates the state of contemporary politics today and how culture can, right or wrong, hold multiple truths simultaneously without consideration of the facts.

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