Gun Target at Freedom Tower - Miami FL

Three gun target pieces were exhibited in a group show entitled: Work/Work Faculty Exhibition at MDC Museum of Art + Design. The show was from September 19 2014 - November 14, 2014.

History of Gun Target Series

In March 2008 Kristen Woodward first exhibited twenty paintings on paper gun targets at Penn State University's Freyberger Gallery. The targets were simply pinned to the walls, to reinforce the quality of the painting as object as well as image. The show generated very interesting discussions and was well received by the students and the community at large.

In a conversation with Penn State students in 2008, many viewed the exhibition as a challenge to gun ownership and immediately voiced objections to any restriction of their second amendment right.  But this right is not absolute.  It arguably has been the most contested article in the Bill of Rights, fraught with compromise and controversy.  Yes, we are allowed to stockpile muskets; biological weapons, not. 

The US Supreme Court just revisited the definition of a well regulated militia in 2008, in District of Columbia v. Heller.  But it did not settle the question of whether this applies only to state governments, or to further define “well regulated’ .  Grammarians point to what is known as an ablative absolute construction in the Second Amendment, (which is considered formed with an opening justification phrase or qualifying clause, followed by a declarative clause where the opening phrase modifies the main clause much as an adjective would modify a noun. * ) Under this interpretation, the opening phrase is considered essential as a pre-condition for the main clause^.  This was a common grammatical structure during the time the Bill of Rights was written.  But it gives us more than pause today.

Students also discussed the totem, or fetish like structure of the targets.  Many are imbued with magical elements- horns and halos, for example.  Joseph Campbells writing about myth inform other viewings, as archetypes momentarily appear and dissolve back into the printed surfaces.  The target figures were ironically interrupted as Modern warriors, while still others saw them as flayed victims.  Despite these disparate interpretations, viewers conceded the pre-made figure was the most neutral, and the most true.

I find it curious that we trust anonymously printed images more than hand painted ones.  Who is the voice, or in this case, the brush, of authority?

* A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, being the best security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed, but no one religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person

Kristen has continued working with this imagery, and have expanded it to include animal forms and some three-dimensional decoys. In January 2014 she had another exhibition of these works scheduled at Process Art House in Amarillo, Texas. The Director was also interested in her ideas about collaboration, and approved the inviting of five other artists to make a work on a gun target for inclusion in the show. One of the artist was John Adkins, which started the idea of creating a dialogue.  

Kristen Woodward - Gun Target Images

Colonial Target

Mixed media on paper

23" x 34"

Comanche Target

Mixed media on paper

23" x 34"

 

New Mexico Target

Mixed media on paper

23" x 34"

Soldier Target

Mixed media on paper

23" x 34"

Lee Target

Mixed media on paper

23" x 34"

Double Target

Mixed media on paper

23" x 34"

Female Target

Mixed media on paper

23" x 34"

Floral Target

Mixed media on paper

23" x 34"

Red Dot Target

Mixed media on paper

23" x 34"

Red, White and Blue Target

Mixed media on paper

25" x 45"

Uncle Sam Target

Mixed media on paper

25" x 45"

Counting Target

Mixed media on paper

23" x 34"

Reading Target

Mixed media on paper

23" x 34"

Kristen Woodward - DUEL Target Paintings Statement

This body of work supports pedagogical inquiry into contemporary figurative abstraction, and societal issues related to violence, consumerism, gender and imperialism. Painted on commercially produced paper gun targets, this series becomes a manifesto of sorts. Collaged images of Uncle Sam, soldiers from past wars and religious iconography mingle with the profane. Flowers, books, and small vignettes of Classical Greek sculpture peek through richly impastoed and colorful surfaces.  The ambiguity of these juxtapositions is intentional. For violence can be beautiful and seductive, when tied to righteous cause.

Geronimo’s’ Target for example, has vaguely familiar images of the US founding fathers opposed to an image of the Indian Chief.  Storm clouds brew in the belly of the man, and disappear into abstract darkness.  A target strategically placed on the genitals emasculates in a humorous way.  Why is this funny?  Other targets are less didactic- Sebastian’s Target harkens by title and arrow to the revered saint.  But martyrs can be contemporary, too.  On a purely formal level, the targets present us with semi-nude torsos.  Most are male.  The forced frontal stance is confrontational, and yet the featureless faces allow for a more voyeuristic approach.  A row of these figures can suggest an army standing at attention, waiting.  Some targets are decidedly female, while others contain text boxes that tabulate scores based on hitting vital organs.  It’s unsettling to imagine who engages in this type of practice.  Surely hunters don’t use human forms?   We can be secure believing that the unseen shooters are our protectors, until the gun faces us.

John Adkins - The Targets with a FACE

Alicia Target 

Mixed media on paper

15" x 21"

Jacqueline Smile Target 

Mixed media on paper

15" x 21"

John Smirk Target 

Mixed media on paper

15" x 25"

Luly Chewing Target 

Mixed media on paper

15" x 25"

Mary Target 

Mixed media on paper

15" x 21"

Piedad Target 

Mixed media on paper

15" x 25"

Samantha Target 

Mixed media on paper

15" x 23"

Shale Target 

Mixed media on paper

15" x 21"