in 1992, when Pat Buchanan at the Republican Convention exhorted the Amercan
people "...to take back our culture, take back our country."
I thought, "Who do you think you are talking to,
kimo sabe?"
The next day, I started this piece.
"E Pluribus Unum" 1992, 8.5 x 11 inches
(Click above for larger image)
Detail of tin-flashed copper
on blue epoxy substrate.
I laid out working circuits in copper traces which
are tin flashed to give them a silvery surface. I found a supplier
of blue boards circuit board and etched the patterns of circuits and collaged
imagery on it. The result is a simple bare, unpopulated board.
Based on a latin phrase meaning "from many, one", E Pluribus
Unum is the motto on the Great Seal of the United States of America. The
central image is the rampant bald eagle of the great seal of the United
States. Grasping an olive branch as an offering of peace, the eagle also
holds a clutch of arrows as an alternative when peace is rejected. Surrounding
patterns represent peoples of the world whose contributions have forged
our culture. Behind the head is a Native American design from a Hopi
vase. Under the right wing is an African motif from a Kuba textile
(Zaire). A Star of David represents the special contribution of the Jews.
Under the left wing is an Asian pattern from an Edo
textile (Japan). Underneath the eagle is a European design from a classical
Greek ceramic vessel.
However, to test the circuitry, I did drill holes and assemble
a few with integrated circuits, light emitting diodes and photocells
which cause shifting patterns of small red lights to travel about the surface.
This artwork won the R. L. Polk
Company "Art and Technology " award in 2001. This page was selected as "Site of the Month" by Corrine
Whitaker at Giraffe.com