Title
Creation Date
2016
Preview
Medium
digital image
Description
This work is part of a series entitled Be All That You Can Be.
Rights
© Andrew Alan Watkins, 2016.
Exhibit Images
Be All That You Can Be Series
COinS
Artist Statement
The glamorous life depicted in media revolving around the military has, for years, warped the minds of the hopeful. A young boy or girl of 17 that sees the commercials of physically fit soldiers rappelling out of a helicopter before doing amazing feats of soldierly prowess, is given a romanticized view of something that is anything but. As in all jobs, there is an element of tedious, repetitive, often vile portions intrinsically connected to the military. Even the most horrible aspects of the service, like cleaning a toilet with a toothbrush, or getting spit in the face while a Drill Instructor screams in your face, are shone in this majestic trophy case of media representation.
Spotlighting the underexposed mediocrity of all of these positions is the goal of this collection, a showcase of the realities, in part, of being a soldier. My intent is not to make light of, or poke fun, but to reveal a portion not seen by the public, in a way that involves the familiar. The context displays the content in a familiar way, only slightly warping the scene to cause an interaction between expected and realization.
The format, much like the context, involves the memory of common media in its size and medium. This is intended to invoke that familiarity to the subject matter, so that the adjustment to the contextual change is more gradual and more thought provoking.