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Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun QUOTES

Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun QUOTES

1 " My honors thesis project was my first interactive exhibit, in which two facing chairs were activated by a motion sensor when the viewer walked by. One was a cofortable armchair of plush red velvet, with a dildo sticking out of a hole in the seat. When activated, the dildo moved up and down and a strobe light pulsed. The facing chair was hard and uncomfortable, with spikes protruding from the seat, and when the viewer walked by it a dog would bark. The juxtaposition of the two chairs was meant to represent how forces of repression censor the desire for liberation.

In that same exhibition, I showed a handmade box in the shape of a cross, decorated with a beautiful painting of the Holy Trinity. The viewer was encouraged to open the box, where they would find a dildo wrapped in the American flag and nailed to a cross-- this was meant to symbolize the hypocrisy and repression that is hidden under the attractive facade of organized religion. The dildo was surrounded by pages from the Bible, which were themselves surrounded by images of the sickness and starvation caused by the embargo in Iraq, a comment on the effects of imposing one culture and religion on another. "

― , Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun

2 " The boar held a VCR reote control and cackled maliciously as he watched a video of U.S. politicians grinning with their one-time budy Saddam--Dick Cheney, Gulf War-era Secretary of State James Baker, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Bob Dole, George H.W. Bush, to the tune of "Taking Care of Business." And then the viewers saw themselves in a mirror emblazoned with the words "You are a witness. "

― , Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun

3 " I'm not sure exactly where I stand in this generational continuum. I'm rebellious, but not against tradition--I'm very respectful of tradition. I'm rebellious against stagnant tradition, and authoritarian control used to keep that tradition in place. If push comes to shove I will always place myself on the side of the new generation, because if a culture can't keep renewing itself, it will eventually die. "

― , Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun

4 " A young artist's career is a matter of claiming a place for oneself, of saying, "I am here." Having gone through that phase, a more mature artist can concentrate on truly developing talent and vision. "

― , Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun

5 " In any culture the dispossessed and powerless willl turn to religion and legend, because what else do they have to believe in? They need these stories of heroism and superhuman saviors to give them hope. "

― , Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun

6 " You can tell when Iraqis are getting upset because, like Italians we start talking with our hands. "

― , Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun

7 " Perhaps this one summed it up: 'Some say they are trying to stop the shooting, a lot say they are having a party shotting him. most are just watching. That. my friend. is America. Nuff said. "

― , Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun

8 " It made no sense, but I always wanted to create a home, even in the most unlikely places. "

― , Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun