TRENT LOTT DREAD LOCK
ROBBY STAVEN | 07.04.2003 16:44
This is one of a series of collage images recently shown in New Haven, Connecticut, US and carried through the streets of Washington DC. The strongest influence to these works are the unnamed thousands who have expressed political opinion through the rapid form of free speech that is collage. Please feel free to copy and distribute.
TRENT LOTT DREAD LOCK
TRENT LOTT DREAD LOCK Pictured at top is Senator Trent Lott. Pictured at bottom is musician Bob Marley.
Trent Lott was caught publicly espousing racism at a 100 year birthday party for the outwardly racist Senator Strom Thurmond. He said, "When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either." Although Lott attempted to backpedal, media outlets recalled numerous similar incidents in the past, leading to Lott's resignation from his majority leader position to the lowly position of "just Senator"; a questionable penalty. During this incident, a polite veneer of false-nicety and false-equity was briefly stripped from the Republican party.
Bob Marley is arguably the most famous reggae singer of all time and through his art, was a champion of the poor and oppressed. He was transparently honest and despised racism. His wore his hair in dreadlocks to express his religious faith and culture. Dreadlocks have been historically associated with earliest Christians, Australian aborigines, New Guinea tribes, religious monks, some African tribes and Jamaican Rastas. Dreadlocks are cultivated over long periods of time, sometimes years, and as such, have come to symbolize commitment and patience.
The unusual symmetry of the photographic context surrounding these men caught my attention, and highlighted their enormous philosophical asymmetry.
Trent Lott was caught publicly espousing racism at a 100 year birthday party for the outwardly racist Senator Strom Thurmond. He said, "When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either." Although Lott attempted to backpedal, media outlets recalled numerous similar incidents in the past, leading to Lott's resignation from his majority leader position to the lowly position of "just Senator"; a questionable penalty. During this incident, a polite veneer of false-nicety and false-equity was briefly stripped from the Republican party.
Bob Marley is arguably the most famous reggae singer of all time and through his art, was a champion of the poor and oppressed. He was transparently honest and despised racism. His wore his hair in dreadlocks to express his religious faith and culture. Dreadlocks have been historically associated with earliest Christians, Australian aborigines, New Guinea tribes, religious monks, some African tribes and Jamaican Rastas. Dreadlocks are cultivated over long periods of time, sometimes years, and as such, have come to symbolize commitment and patience.
The unusual symmetry of the photographic context surrounding these men caught my attention, and highlighted their enormous philosophical asymmetry.
ROBBY STAVEN