Guns in America #13
Guns in America
After my father passed away in 2007, I came across 3 vintage handguns I never knew he owned. Torn between the fact they belonged to my father and my own
feelings regarding U.S. policy on gun control, I decided to store them in a lock box and revisit the guns at another time.
In late 2012, the horrifying murders in Sandy Hook happened. It occurred to me then that I had never dealt with the guns and was ready to get rid of them. A friend suggested that I first photograph them.
In 2013, I laid the guns out on my studio worktable – and circled and stared at them for days, but I felt no emotional connection. After experimenting with strobes and different approaches in black and white, a square piece of rusty, painted metal with a round yellow flaking shape in the middle caught my eye. I placed a gun on top
and took a test shot in color. It was then that something snapped, a sense of moving in the right creative direction. Hours were spent wandering antique stores and junkyards looking for props to build the mini sets for Guns in America. The lighting was a paramount component of the images: harsh illumination with loud, tweaked and saturated colors.
While the stark tones of the photographs in Guns in America undergird my conviction about the absence of sane gun policy in the United States, the photos
speak a truth shared by many. The images are not subtle. Nor is the subject matter and the violence inflicted by guns every single day.
My intention in creating these images is not to dissuade anyone about the validity of the Second Amendment. A few people have commented to me that these
photographs are a ‘problem,’ that I’m pitching for the government to ‘take our guns away.’ What I am trying to do is bring an awareness to the need to save lives that
are being taken in this country based on guidance that was provided more than 230 years ago. Things have changed.
Guns in America #13
My thinking behind this particular image has to do with icons of the “America Dream”. Blue skies, white picket fence, the American Flag, green grass and a doll in a beautiful dress. But it’s all changed when you notice the top of her head is gone, filled with a nest and a gun nestled inside.
Americans so worship the all-holy Second Amendment of our Constitution that in my mind, that will never go away. Being able to own a gun is the very definition of being an American. With all of our other “freedoms” being attacked now, this is the one that will survive, to the point that even small steps towards sanity will not be considered. The US adherence to this “234-year-old amendment” is mind-staggering. I’m pretty sure times have changed…
