Invited to submit art for a show with a paranoia/ mind control/ art of suggestion theme, I gave it my all. Drawing on 18 years (+/-) of listening to Art Bell's Coast to Coast radio show, I hit upon three ideas in no time at all. While I do not buy into conspiracies by and large, the discussions somehow fascinate and entertain me. So, lets take a look at what I produced...
The Bohemian Club Sign
I based this sign on others I have seen online. It does not match any one sign exactly, aside from the content of the words. The logo is a replica of the logo used by the club. Some of you may not be familiar with the Bohemian club and will be unsure of the reason it was subject matter for this art show. Hopefully you can get the jist from this verbage I copied from Wikipedia:
The Bohemian Club is a private club; only active members of the Club (known as "Bohos" or "Grovers"[12]) and their guests may visit the Grove. These guests have been known to include politicians and notable figures from countries outside the U.S.[2] Particularly during the midsummer encampment, the number of guests is strictly limited due to the small size of the facilities. Nevertheless, up to 2,900 members and guests have been reported as attending some of the annual encampments.[citation needed]
The membership list has included every Republican Party and some Democratic Party U.S. presidents since 1923, many cabinet officials, directors and CEOs of large corporations including major financial institutions. Major military contractors, oil companies, banks (including the Federal Reserve), utilities (including nuclear power) and national media (broadcast and print) have high-ranking officials as club members or guests.
Basically, there are some major players known to be members in this club of the elite. Anytime you have people of power meeting in secrecy, you have the makings of a good ol' conspiracy.
Mayan Prophecy
The idea behind this was to create a block which could pass for a section of wall removed from a Mayan temple, or the like. The majority of the 14" x 12" piece is the styrofoam core, with only a 3/4" layer of cement over that. My thought was that it would be light enough to hang on a wall. In truth, the piece probably weighs 10 pounds. Not quite the lightweight wall-hanging I had in mind. Still, it will look good in our garden.
The alleged Mayan prophecies regarding 2012 were the source of this idea. I used my own design for the head gear, basing it off of actual images found in books. Yes, that is a Starbucks cup in his hand. Sure, they did not have Starbucks in their time but, remember, this depicts a prophetic look into makind's future. Are we doomed to the fate of this pie-eyed indian? Does his mouth hang agape because he is witnessing an atomic bomb? Or, has he suddenly realized that he has spent too much on his grande mocha?
The Illuminati Nightlight
My favorite piece of the three is the Illuminati Nightlight. I will even go as far to say that it is one of the greatest pieces I have ever made. It turned out as I had hoped it would, though I had some doubt as to whether I could make it happen.
The subject matter, of course, is the symbol from the back of a 1-dollar bill. Many conspiracy theorists claim it is a Masonic symbol, pointing to various aspects of it's design. My take on it consists of mahogany sides topped with a crystal pyramid I ordered off of Amazon.
I must give due credit to Mr. Eric Williams at Future Antiques. It was with his help that I was able to cut the compound miters necessary for the angle of the 'bricks' to match those on the crystal pyramid. I can say with some certainty that I would have been hard-pressed to get the accuracy his knowledge provided me were I to be left to my own devices.
Finally, I want to discuss the light coming from beneath the pyramids base. As I was working on mounting the light fixture inside the piece, I noticed that raising the base slightly from the tabletop caused a really cool glowing 'halo' around the bottom. As a result, I ended up mounting tiny rubber feet to the inner walls. That was a really cool addition to an already exceptional piece.
