Michael Waugh "The More I See of Men"

Schroeder Romero & Shredder

poster for Michael Waugh "The More I See of Men"

This event has ended.

The drawings that comprise "The More I See of Men" continue Michael Waugh’s exploration of the drawing technique called micrography, through which tiny hand-written words are used to build up visual images. As Waugh’s work continues to evolve, the drawings have become denser and more expressive; yet they remain deeply engaged in politics and the rhetoric of official history.

The work presented in "The More I See of Men," uses the text of reports commissioned by U.S presidents as its starting point. These reports, which often serve the purposes of political propaganda, present research on issues as diverse as the attacks of 9/11, the assassination of President Kennedy, and the privatization of social security. Waugh uses these texts to create a dizzying filigree of bureaucratic documents that coalesce into the form of dogs – waiting to serve their masters. Rich with allegory and dark humor, these drawings subvert the obvious, optically shifting between image and text, figure and ground. These are drawings that transcend their source by reminding us that viewing is not passive.

Dogs are a common subject in popular art; and, after portraits of people, portraits of pets are the second most commissioned subject. Part of the critique inherent in this series of drawings is a comparison between the banality of such artistic commissions and the banality of commissioned propaganda. The knowledge that dogs have been bred to serve us, to listen and do our bidding unquestioningly makes the critique more biting. The centerpiece of the show, entitled The Commission for a National Agenda for the Eighties, is over eight feet tall and almost ten feet wide; it contains over 300 pages of handwritten text; it took six months to complete. Such vast amounts of labor given over in service to such specious propaganda cannot be felt easily. Like the history of the country into which this work delves, this show overflows with generosity, with a contradictory, heartbreaking beauty.

Media

Schedule

from January 16, 2009 to February 21, 2009

Opening Reception on 2009-01-16 from 18:00 to 20:00

Artist(s)

Michael Waugh

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