honorable mention
Dan Tague united statesPhoto © Dan Tague
title
Make Love Not War
This photo is of folded US currency to reveal the message Make Love Not War.
He incorporates dollar bills, screen prints, sound, video, and other media to create works of visual riddles and social commentary. Flipping imagery and transforming rallying cries, much of his work comes from his survivalist experience in New Orleans through several disasters. Post-hurricane, his home, like many other Americans, was destroyed; all belongings lost. Since this time, he has witnessed environmental justice and education reform take a back seat to corporate greed, frenzied consumerism, and apathy.
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entry description
The many nuances associated with the dollar bill serve as an unrelenting source of inspiration for me as I fold the monetary engravings obsessively to reveal messages. These manipulated promissory notes take on new meanings as the messages are realized in the ready-made light of the U.S. currency. At the very core of this monetary narrative is the tug-of-war between politics and the pursuit of happiness. I address several of these very issues that are important to all of us: labor, civil rights, morality, conflict, and most importantly love.This photo is of folded US currency to reveal the message Make Love Not War.
about the photographer
Dan Tague is an artist whose work relentlessly addresses power structures in contemporary society. He is one of the most visible artists breaking through to international recognition from a post-Katrina New Orleans. Tague's work points to inadequacies in government policy toward education, environmental health, and financial reform and unapologetically stresses the zero sum nature of greed and neglect.He incorporates dollar bills, screen prints, sound, video, and other media to create works of visual riddles and social commentary. Flipping imagery and transforming rallying cries, much of his work comes from his survivalist experience in New Orleans through several disasters. Post-hurricane, his home, like many other Americans, was destroyed; all belongings lost. Since this time, he has witnessed environmental justice and education reform take a back seat to corporate greed, frenzied consumerism, and apathy.
back to gallery