The Commando Santa! lol I love it and follow this link if you would like to add this particular Santa to your collection. -Matt
Archive for category War Art
Hat tip to Mark over at Zenpundit. I am always on the lookout for interesting war related artwork, and I think this stuff definitely qualifies. Al Farrow has been doing these types of sculptures for awhile and they are very involved and intricate. As you can see, these sculptures are made out of bone, bullets, guns, artillery shells, etc., and Al explains where he is going with all of these pieces in the video below.
In his first exhibition in Washington, DC, Al Farrow presents welded metal sculptures of religious structures, which are composed entirely of gun parts, bullets, artillery shells, and human bone. The works form striking commentaries on the militarism embedded in the histories of the three major religions. Farrows Christian reliquaries (in a series ironically titled The Trigger Finger of Santo Guerro) and exact-scale replicas of a Jewish synagogue and a Moslem mosque are based on historical models for which Farrow assembles appropriated gun parts symbolically related to the three religions.
The plate is very unique and if you go to his website, you will see a bunch of different plates he made that have defense themes. Stuff like Men With Uzis, B2 Bomber, and Nuclear Submarines. lol
Also, if you check out that video you will see that the gallery is also displaying Shepard Fairey’s stuff (famous for the Obama campaign posters)
I also put up a couple pieces to give you an idea of the detail and intricacies of his stuff. Check it out. -Matt
Website for Al Farrow artwork here.
Trigger Finger of Santa Guerro (I), Gun Parts, Bullets, Steel, Glass, Bone, 25"h X 14"dia., Reliquaries Sculptures
Mother & Daughter / Mortar Launchers, Polyester Resin with Clay Filler and Paint, 11.5" diam X 4.5" deep, Mimbres Series Sculptures
Hilarious. No yard should be without a squad of ‘Combat Garden Gnomes‘. -Matt
Garden Gnomes are widely regarded as friendly, whimsical, peaceful little creatures…
Not anymore!
I don’t know what it was that finally prompted the gnomes to take up arms. Maybe it was one too many gopher invasions. Perhaps it was the overwhelming gaudiness of neighboring plastic pink flamingoes encroaching on their ancestral homeland. Or maybe they just finally got tired of the media portraying them as travelling morons. Either way, they’ve had enough and they’re out for blood.
My gnomes stand just under a foot tall, weigh somewhere between one and ten pounds, and each one comes with your choice of either the ubiquitous M16A2 assault rifle or the venerable AK-47. Your gnome will be delicately packed in the finest imported bubble wrap, laid in a luxurious bed of gourmet packing peanuts*, and shipped directly to your door by a professional, uniformed carrier through USPS Priority Mail. For your ease of mind, you will receive a tracking number once your gnome has shipped so that you can check on his progress as he makes his speedy way from my workshop to you.
I chuckled when I first found out about this and was considering making this a ‘funny stuff’ post. But then I started really looking at this effort from a different point of view, and that is if you can reduce the theories of Clauswitz into a children’s book, then that is pretty damned cool and impressive. It would also really open up the world of strategy to children, and likewise shame adults who did not know about this strategy.
The other thing I like about this project is that I could see this book selling quite well to the defense industry families and military families of the world. Parents are always interested in the whole ‘Baby Einstein‘ concept of buying products that could make their children smarter. Imagine a child learning the very basic elements of strategy at such a young age, and how that could apply to all of their endeavors for the rest of their lives? I know I have been personally inspired by the leading strategies of business and war, and this knowledge has been immensely helpful for understanding the world we live in. That knowledge of strategy could also make a person wealthy, help in conflict resolution, help in contests of business or war, or even help in their personal survival. Lot’s of positives that can come from this knowledge. So what’s next? A children’s illustrated guide for Sun Tzu or Col. John Boyd? -Matt
Blog for Children’s Illustrated Clauswitz here.
Funny Stuff: Rebellion
Mar 8
James’s portrait is not up yet on this website, but when it does come up I will put the word out. If you follow the link below for the ’100 Faces of War Experience’, you will see what these portraits are all about. To have a DynCorp guy being represented on this website is really cool and an honor for the company and this industry. -Matt
DynCorp Employee Honored for Heroic Efforts in Afghanistan
By John Adams
December 29, 2010
DynCorp International police trainer James Boyd will be recognized in the “100 Faces of War Experience” portrait in honor of his actions during an insurgent attack on his outpost in Afghanistan earlier this year.
While embedded with the U.S. military, Boyd’s outpost came under fire from a group of insurgents. Boyd repeatedly braved bullets and bombs, scrambling back-and-forth across the compound to get medical bags and stretchers, lend aid and supported the team working to keep the enemy from breaching the compound wall.
According to the firm, “Boyd has supported efforts to train the Afghan border police under DI’s contract with the Department of State’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) since Nov. 2009.”
“The civilian police mentors and trainers that we have working in Afghanistan and around the world exhibit quiet acts of heroism every day,” said Don Ryder, DI vice president of the company’s training, mentoring and security programs. “James’ dedication to the mission and to helping others is a great example of the selfless contributions being made by those deployed overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is fitting that he will be honored in this exhibit.”
“A lot of people have asked about my efforts that day,” Boyd said. “I’m a trained police officer and when something like this happens, while most people react by running away from danger, we are trained to run toward it and see how we can help. That is what I did.”
‘That Guy (Part Deux)’ by LMS Defense- The Comics. Artwork by Righteous Duke.
“It’s essential that we stand by her side, as a community, Muslims along with everyone else,” Bukhari said. “We should stand up to people who make these kinds of threats, not look the other way.”
Yet there’s been a “low-grade indifference” to Norris’ plight, Jackson says. Public officials haven’t contacted her, not even privately.
“Here’s a case of a wanted terrorist demanding the head of a Northwesterner,” Jackson wrote on the Web site Crosscut. “Why, then, has Molly Norris been met by the mother of all silence?”
*****
I wanted to post this to show my support for what Molly was originally going for with this cartoon, and that is to show solidarity with the folks at Comedy Central when they poked fun at Muhammad. Of course jihadists threatened them, and they also threatened Molly, and both Comedy Central and Molly for whatever their reasons were, stopped. What kind of message does that send? And the Seattle Weekly should be changed to the Seattle Weak Knees. You guys should have backed up Molly and stood your ground against these idiots.
Why do artists and media groups continue to ‘bow down and kiss the ring’ of these Islamic extremist dorks? For all you folks know, it was some 12 year old kid on a computer trying to get your goat. I say press on and exercise your right to free speech.
Even if it was legitimate terrorists, these guys are weak sauce. I have been making fun of these idiots for awhile now and it is an essential part of my wonderful day! lol (the Potential poster is my all time top post on the blog-go figure?) I actually want them to say something, just so I can get a good laugh and channel more traffic to the blog.
There is another reason for why you should not back down. Terrorism works, when you actually show fear. hint hint? So Molly, keep your name, get out of hiding, and draw Momo! Free speech only remains your right if you have the courage to fight for it. Inshallah. -Matt
Facebook Page for Draw Momo And Be Happy Day here.
——————————————————————
The cartoon that started it all.
Terror threat to Seattle cartoonist should draw response
Danny Westneat
September 18, 2010
The case of the Seattle cartoonist who used to be named Molly Norris makes me wonder: Shouldn’t we be sturdier than this?
The case of the Seattle cartoonist who used to be named Molly Norris makes me wonder: Shouldn’t we be sturdier than this?
Last week Norris made worldwide news, when it was announced she was “going ghost” because she had been put on an Islamic terror hit list.
“There is no more Molly,” wrote the Seattle Weekly newspaper, where her cartoons once ran. “On the insistence of top security specialists at the FBI, she is … moving, changing her name, and essentially wiping away her identity.”
This news was bewildering. The FBI had insisted a U.S. citizen renounce her identity, all because some radical in Yemen doesn’t like her art?
