It was an honor to have three Polar Brokers drawings published as cover art for SAGE Magazine which is published by the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Below is the entire publication starting out with the my work on the back cover.
TrophySoldiers.com is a web project made in 2007 that became a reaction to my own personal desensitization to the imagery from the war in Iraq. I feel that I and the majority of Americans have become numb to the war. I believe this country is currently more interested in who won American Idol or the game than staying educated on current events, and casualty reports from the war. I hope that some viewers will realize that their own perceptions of the war should be questioned.
The reason for the use of deer trophies for the heads of the soldiers was in reaction to seeing the deer being used in abundance in recent art and design trends. When asking several artists and designers why they decided to use the deer imagery there seemed to be no apparent reason. Using it associated with fallen soldiers is indeed powerful imagery and an attempt at starting a dialogue about why we are collectively using imagery in our culture without knowing why.
Why is it easier to look at a deer than to look at the faces of our fallen Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Sailors? The deer is used in an effort to provoke a serious dialogue about who these people were and what legacy they leave behind.
I believe that we as a people must wake up and really look at the portraits of our neighbors, loved ones, and friends who have lost their lives in this war. Make an effort to learn who they were and help support their families. In order to learn more about the ones who have lost their lives and read their real obituaries and view their real portraits go to www.legacy.com.
Below are opening photos of the Trophy Soldiers solo show at Joe Bar, Seattle, WA.
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A collaborative awareness project installed on trees during the Tangerine Festival which focuses on environmental activism. 1-26-08.
As if in a dream I awoke
To find out that it had all been a bad joke.
Humans never needed their bodies.
We were all now balls of light afloat.
It was as if we had passed the big test.
A peace treaty had been signed to arrest
The human greed and suffering we have all endured.
The petty arguing and wars to which we were allured.
We were now all beings of light with no longer anything to fight.
No more natural resources to hoard out of spite.
We had a decision to make through this awakening.
Were we all to stay on earth or travel abroad.
No longer bound by time and space our problems solved.
No more need for government or laws
Our energy part of one long infinite pause.
Between the big bang and big zoom.
The stars charted in our infinite womb.
Even with this change of the utmost extreme
Balls of light formed allies and made teams.
No longer able to hurt each other they were seen
Haunting other dimensions and the life forms therein.
Other humanoid lifeforms wondered why we picked them.
Why we carved patterns into their ground.
Why we moved objects when they weren’t around.
It would seem that we still needed to engage.
That it was not just our bodies that held our rage.
Some tribes found peace in the cosmic dance.
Flying into stars and becoming entranced.
Shooting into black holes and coming out the end.
A point of light at the beginning before it bends.
I decided to take my family of light back into the dream.
As we entered new bodies in other galaxies full of steam.
These lifeforms were simple and didn’t need much.
As if we were ancient dinosaurs seeking our lunch.
We searched the planet eating alien plant life all day long.
We lived in peace as a new family and continued our song.
This choice we made…aware of our potential energy.
The simplicity of this life form we chose for its synergy.
The middle path this animal had always maintained.
Keeping the balance with our environment we decided to remain.
A network is built for times like these.
A message in a bottle I throw into the sea.
I barely know you but we are in this together.
As the consequences we face vibrate forever.
Boats full of Africans sailed up to the beach.
Half dead and half alive they could barely speak.
Seeking a new way of life from their country
Where food is scarce and water sources weak.
Mexicans and Central Americans looking for work
Flee their barren lands and cross to the North.
No food or water in their lands or countries.
Our entire border will soon be guarded for entry.
India is building a three meter fence as we speak
To keep out the refugees from Bangladesh.
Politicians continue to debate the affects of man and the sun
While the human impact of climate change has already begun.
Mexico is facing huge socio-economic problems.
So many problems it will be impossible to solve them.
For a moment imagine the world in 2024
As the flow of hungry ex-farmers migrate across the lands.
Food riots are now common place.
The Gulf Coast and South Florida are under water space.
Congress just gave the funds to guard our borders for
A fence three meters high pumped with electricity.
A ditch underneath and another fence behind.
Robotic machine guns a top the fences shoot to kill.
Maybe a bit too much like science fiction if you will?
Maybe you’d rather think of things working out instead?
But the military has already written this scenario into their heads.
As they prepare for the unthinkable that will soon be seen.
This might affect you or maybe your children.
If you were born after 1980 you will see this indeed.
As our country fights for food and water from our neighbors.
Maybe paranoia abounds by whom we are lead.
As we eat up the climate change dooms day scenarios we are fed.
The age of consequence is upon us they now say.
We will be affected and humanity will dearly pay.
But I must ask myself why should it really matter?
Sure it will be a horrible way in which to live.
Maybe by the end of this century our species will be done.
Maybe the next species that arises will learn from what we have begun.
Infinite universes stacked on top of us.
Bumping into our brains with their membranes.
The mysteries are getting less mysterious.
Fleeting glimpses of knowledge as such
Opening up doors to the unknown and mythical.
Spirits may be trapped in our dimension
As UFOs travel back and forth from their star systems.
Science does not negate religion.
It is merely defining the miracle of creation.
The Holy Books were missing reference material.
As we communicate, this moment is a point in time.
My thoughts merge with yours as if they were mine.
You take these words and paint pictures in your head.
You can take those images and can be lead
To a new perspective in which to engage.
A new way of looking at your life and this age.
It’s the connections we make that give life its meaning.
It’s the decisions we make that keep us from giving.
It is the millions of subconscious voices
That help your mind and body make their choices.
It’s pretty simple at its core.
Get up and face your life as if there is always more.
Get up and keep searching for the reason why you are here.
Your path extends before you like a invisible thread.
As you surf the wave of consciousness
Remember that the wave’s energy is at your core.
Remember that the wave cannot be read.
Just stay tuned in and connect the dots
As the thread extends toward the next spot.
You are the eyes of the universe they now say.
What you see will shape your reality today.
To see the beauty in the horror is our ongoing mission.
Just continue to pick yourself up and enjoy your vision.
Life is like a circus.
As it jerks us back and forth.
As gravity is defied in thin air.
Tigers trained not to bite you there.
Treats are given to keep them tame.
Watching magic tricks will keep you lame.
As the performers keep going for the next event.
As the ringmaster announces the big news.
This is The Greatest Show on Earth to muse.
Men on stilts jumping on trampolines.
Elephants line up and dance on balance beams.
Shape shifters bend in half in superb time.
The best talent is always painted and sublime.
Miss a beat and it could all drop like a dime.
Huge flashing projections of planets and gold.
More and more for your mind to grasp and mold.
The tickets are sold for much cheaper online.
You can wait at the box office or skip ahead.
As you see the toys of plastic and lead.
Now the cotton candy comes with a collectable rag.
Everything comes prepackaged in a plastic bag.
If you go to the bathroom your seat will be taken.
Ask nicely for it back or your teeth could be broken.
Keep a good eye on your child in the crowd.
They have a tendency of running free and wild.
Trapeze artists miss their target and fall like rocks.
The world’s strongest man is a juggling jock.
And the lights go back on for intermission.
Seems breaks are there for a good reason.
Collect your thoughts and enjoy the season.
A time to relax and think of life’s mission.
Run off the extra energy before the next session.
Think long and hard and find the next lesson.
Too much too soon.
I think my disc space is out of room.
I can’t watch the news about the earthquake in Haiti.
I had the same feeling during Hurricane Katrina.How can I help these poor people?
They sit in the streets with nothing to eat.
They have lost their families and friends.
How can I help them believe this is not the end?As I flip through the channels I see nothing but death.
Swollen bodies buried and the sorrow that is left.
The hollow faces of journalists who are dazed and confused
As they report this new holocaust on YouTube.I was laid off today and it went really well.
Big hugs all around and everything was swell.
I am having a hard time getting down about this.
Especially when the people of Haiti are so close to the abyss.My problems although large pale in comparison.
The poorest of the poor have been completely floored.
Their roofs toppled and their country destroyed
By a natural event as if they were just toys.People are texting and tweeting their money to help.
This technology is transforming donations as well.
It’s almost too much for me to watch.
It seems my brain can only handle so much.As if there is a filter that turns off when it reaches its limit.
As if the human brain cannot handle too much in it.
I hate to use such a thing as an example.
To be able to see the beauty around me and be truly thankfulOf what I am and what I have not lost.
I am in living in the richest of nations.
I received a college degree at a high cost.
I am the Atari and Nintendo generation.I have a roof over my head at this duration.
I have a family I love who lives today.
A job I might not have but that is okay.
This life I try to live with much obligationFor the people who aren’t here to witness the miracle.
For the genes I carry from my family tree.
Engaged I will be as much as I can.
A witness I am for those who cannot be.
Try not to think of it in terms of right and wrong.
Try to think about it is as finding your path.
Because it is your actions that will last.
Because from every mistake there is a lesson.
Try not to think about it as us against them.
Try not to think about a group with a plan.
Because most groups have more foes than friends.
Because we are truly alone in the end.
Try not to doubt yourself too much too.
Try and stand by the decisions you have made.
Because thoughts become your mind’s view.
Because thoughts help sharpen your blade.
Try to look forward and project.
Try to think big and small act.
Because you are adding to your secret formula.
Because you are part of the human dramula.
Long range sensors have picked up a new life form.
It is intelligent and knows exactly who you are.
It is so fast it defies time and space.
Its numbers so vast it knows no place.
Without your observation it does not exist.
It takes on a shape so fleeting you can’t resist.
Names and definitions we put to things we can’t see.
To things inside of us, maybe even a universe or three.
We are all spinning urgently towards our center.
Bombarding into others as we quickly splinter.
A core gravity we trace around and around.
At once we are lost and at once we are found.
The journey begins with no end in site.
Your consciousness knows the true beauty of flight.
Your mind remembers the energy long spent.
Your pairing with like particles that happily bent.
Magnetism pulls you closer together.
Aligning your operating systems for bad weather.
An upgrade will come soon before the storm.
Evolution will happen and we will find reform.
Try not to think about politics and the news.
Try not to think about the 2010 blues.
Because life is too short and that’s what matters.
Because energy cannot be created nor shattered.
An idea once thought to be foolish to me
as I came from a Christian paradigm.
I now find more and more interesting and free.
The idea that we can come back again.
That this life is a test, not the end.
That maybe what we give is what we will be.
Maybe we are waiting to be reborn anew.
Maybe our energy is now trapped not free.
Maybe we are the infinite nature of our universe.
Stars giving birth to entire galaxies.
Black holes swallowing suns and planets whole.
Maybe we have been in other dimensions first.
Maybe we have traveled back and forth for a peek.
To see what the ant-like humans are doing for thirst.
To see if they have finally found peace.
To see if we are a dying culture ready to burst.
A sense of infinity I so desire.
As I don’t want to stop evolving or burn up in a fire.
Human potential is so filled with paradox.
The genius and evil of our greed and desire
Knows no boundaries and seems to be such a thin wire.
A universal consciousness connecting all the dots.
One thought leads to another and cities are built.
One thought leads to another and cultures die and wilt.
A feeling of freedom this thought of something infinite can be.
That we can make mistakes and learn through our lives.
That we will take these lessons to another life form.
That we might solve our problems after we die.
That we might not know the answers for a million years.
That we don’t have to worry about solving everything today.
Feeling our solutions will happen one day helps with my fear.
When we meet again in another galaxy our souls might be one.
Our soul’s frequency attracting each other
Across time and space our work continuing to be done.
Today I meditate on reincarnation as a solution for the human mind.
That we might not worry too much about this lifespan or time-line.
Top 100 photos from the Hubble Space Telescope
