The prints for the President: “Why?” series (2010–2018; murals ongoing) were derived from postage-stamp-size advertisements for mass-market posters — peace signs, anti-war slogans, environmental emblems — cut out of coarsely printed comic books published in the early 1970s. Striking formal qualities emerged when these crude reproductions were enlarged up to 2000% on a dying laser proofer and then sequentially copied up to 150 times. This method amplified the expected degradation of an image that normally occurs during each step (or “generation”) of the mechanical reproduction process, hence I call these serendipitous distortions "degeneration" prints.
Throughout the President: "Why?" animation the 3,500-plus tabloid-size “degeneration prints” traverse the ineffable border between figure and abstraction in a rhythmic flow of saturated color and riotous form — a metaphor for the formal and narrative collision between the protagonists’ brutal, realpolitik poetry and the battered but resilient ideals of the Sixties.
The degeneration prints have also been exhibited as site specific murals.
Throughout the President: "Why?" animation the 3,500-plus tabloid-size “degeneration prints” traverse the ineffable border between figure and abstraction in a rhythmic flow of saturated color and riotous form — a metaphor for the formal and narrative collision between the protagonists’ brutal, realpolitik poetry and the battered but resilient ideals of the Sixties.
The degeneration prints have also been exhibited as site specific murals.
There are 30 sets of degeneration prints in the President: "Why?" series. Each set consists of approximately 120 prints, with an edition of three prints made from each original. Additionally, the sets were conceived as diptychs, and starting with sets 3 and 4 ("Cosmos Being" and "Peace Fingers"), the pairs were made in tandem.
The prints are presented below with their diptych match from the succeeding run.
(Note that there are approximately 1775 pairs, which are being posted as life allows.)
Click on an image to see the diptychs uploaded so far.
01B_Love Peace-w-02A_First Day Finger
02B_First Day Finger-w-03A_Cosmos Being
03B_Cosmos Being-w-04A_Peace Fingers
04B_Peace Fingers-w-05A_Woodstock
05B_Woodstock-with-06A_Love Beagle
06B_Love Beagle-w-07A_Sunshine Landscape
07B_Sunshine Landscape-w-08A_Pollution Mask
08B_Pollution Mask-w-9A_Flower Love
09B_Flower Love-w-10A_Scorpio
10B_Scorpio-w-11A_War Not For Children
11B_War Not For Children-w-12A_Feeling Groovy
12B_Feeling Groovy-w-13A_Love A Hippy
13B_Love a Hippy-w-14A_One Million
14B_One Million-w-15A_Couple
15B_Couple-w-16A_Surreal Landscape
16B_Surreal Landscape_1833-w-17A_Suppose Peace
17B_Suppose Peace-w-18A_Pollution Skull
18B_Pollution Skull-w-19A_Love Flower
19B_Love Flower-w-20A_War Not For People-
20B_War Not For People-w-21A_Smile
21B_Smile-w-22A_Do It
22B_Do It-w-23A_Who Needs You
23B_Who Needs You-w-24A_Ling Ling
24B_Ling Ling-w-25A_Stone Ripoff
25B_Stone Ripoff-w-26A_Black Beautiful
26B_Black Beautiful-w-27A_Harley Tuff
27B_Harley Tuff-w-28A_Kiss Me
28B_Kiss Me-w-29A_Repent Skull
29B_Repent Skull-w-30A_First Day of Life
30B_First Day of Life-w-01A_Peace Love
