First Method of Tyrants

Here's a new silkscreen print from 2008. This takes off from Louis XIV's engraving of the phrase "Ultima Ratio Regum" on his cannons - meaning the "last resort of kings". That is, of course, blatantly false. Both then and now, my new motto is probably more apt: war, violence and the use of force are more often the first choice of tyrants.

The image is an adaptation of an older image of mine which replaced the swinging batter in the MLB logo with a soldier shooting an M-16.












Here's the older image which I created in grad school back in 2005. The parallels between sport, politics, entertainment and war are clear and have been elucidated well by others. That thinking led me toward this image. We see the media-led adulation for team and army which is devoid of any true critique of the cronyism and profiteering implicit in both professional sport and the military/defense industry.