"MOSTLY" BLANKS
22 ammunition canisters, powder coat paint, 22 ammunition canisters, 24 x 56 x 24 in. 2012
22 ammunition canisters, powder coat paint, 22 ammunition canisters, 24 x 56 x 24 in. 2012
Critiquing the intersection of military, medical, and colloquial language.
"Nothing to worry about" painted in industrial powder coat, spelled out in standard military lettering
along a grouping of 22 military ammunition canisters (50 Cal.) 12" L x 8" H x 6"W
Some bearing the markings for BLANK and others bearing SMALL ARMS
Military rhetoric sends mixed messages. Though peace, and conflict resolution is an often idealised outcome of war, peace keeping is not a battle fought independent of diplomacy. Persuasive language is softened, yet when bullets are used you can be sure people are being killed or injured. Nothing to Worry About may as well be the battle cry. The gun: the ultimate phallus. Capable of giving life, and spreading disease. Negotiations in our own bedrooms are now blurred as our sexual partners are left to determine and negotiate risk and comfort, separate truth from misinformation. Are you clean or dirty ?
Are you shooting blanks or are you a loaded gun?
"Medical discourse is replete with the language of war and such phrases as
”the war on cancer,” ”magic bullets,” “silver bullets,” “the therapeutic
armamentarium,” “agents of disease,” “the body’s defences,” and “doctor’s
orders” are deeply engrained in our medical rhetoric. The mindset
engendered by this discourse of war renders the patient as a battlefield upon
which the doctor-combatant defeats the arch-enemy, disease."
from: "The Military Metaphors of Modern Medicine" by Abraham Fuks
"Nothing to worry about" painted in industrial powder coat, spelled out in standard military lettering
along a grouping of 22 military ammunition canisters (50 Cal.) 12" L x 8" H x 6"W
Some bearing the markings for BLANK and others bearing SMALL ARMS
Military rhetoric sends mixed messages. Though peace, and conflict resolution is an often idealised outcome of war, peace keeping is not a battle fought independent of diplomacy. Persuasive language is softened, yet when bullets are used you can be sure people are being killed or injured. Nothing to Worry About may as well be the battle cry. The gun: the ultimate phallus. Capable of giving life, and spreading disease. Negotiations in our own bedrooms are now blurred as our sexual partners are left to determine and negotiate risk and comfort, separate truth from misinformation. Are you clean or dirty ?
Are you shooting blanks or are you a loaded gun?
"Medical discourse is replete with the language of war and such phrases as
”the war on cancer,” ”magic bullets,” “silver bullets,” “the therapeutic
armamentarium,” “agents of disease,” “the body’s defences,” and “doctor’s
orders” are deeply engrained in our medical rhetoric. The mindset
engendered by this discourse of war renders the patient as a battlefield upon
which the doctor-combatant defeats the arch-enemy, disease."
from: "The Military Metaphors of Modern Medicine" by Abraham Fuks
Mostly Blanks, 24 x 56 x 24 in. powder coat enamel on ammunition cannisters, 2012
SIDE VIEW: Mostly Blanks, 24 x 56 x 24 in. powder coat enamel on ammunition cannisters, 2012
Mostly Blanks, (detail) 24 x 56 x 24 in. powder coat enamel on ammunition cannisters, 2012
Mostly Blanks, (detail) 24 x 56 x 24 in. powder coat enamel on ammunition cannisters, 2012