Stand Off

2022

Mixed Media

25" W X 33” D x 71” H

Stand Off is a playable sculpture inspired by the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

I approached this project by first examining the idealistic notions behind the Second Amendment and then distilling the societal effects into an interactive sculpture.

Stand Off was selected for inclusion in Shall Make, Shall Be: The Bill of Rights at Play, an Exhibition hosted by Carnegie Mellon University and NYU.

The viewer is invited to interact with a sliding puzzle. To solve the puzzle, the "finger guns" must point at each other, creating an equilibrium, or "stand off." This puzzle is an abstraction of the idealized notion of the "right to bear arms."

I approached this project by first examining the idealistic notions behind the Second Amendment and then juxtaposing them with reflections on the impact of modern gun culture.

A standoff is a form of equilibrium.

The Second Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights to protect the right of American

citizens to legally own and use firearms. The founders correlated “arms” with perseverance and

independence. The Second Amendment renders any prohibitive regulations on arms

unconstitutional. For early Americans, being armed was a way to maintain equilibrium between

the people and entities that might do them harm, be it criminals, wildlife, an invading army, or

municipal overreach. In this utopian vision, the right to bear arms maintains a level playing field.

A standoff only occurs if both sides are balanced.

In Standoff, the ideal interpretation of the “right to bear arms” is abstracted in a sliding puzzle.

Each of the sliding tiles incorporates carved hands pointed in the “gun pose,” an almost

universally understood gesture. To solve the puzzle, the viewer must manipulate the tiles so that

the fingers all point at each other, thus creating a counterbalance or a standoff.

A standoff is the uneasy peace created by the threat of mutually assured destruction.

Once the puzzle is complete, motorized mechanisms can be activated by pushing buttons on the

front of the cabinet, a bridge between theory and actuality. The abstracted simplicity gives way

to a complicated legacy of racism, classism, and cruelty. One of the mechanisms features an

accidental musical composition entitled “Aversion Therapy,” which addresses my personal

relationship with firearms.

A standoff is a contest in which there is no winner.

Standoff is about appreciating the spirit of the Second Amendment while despising gun violence.

It is about reconciling American mythology with American brutality.

 Acknowledgements:

I would like to applaud Laine Nooney, John Sharp, Luke Dubois and the rest of the Shall Make,

Shall Be team for the momentous task of organizing this exhibition. Also, much appreciation to

Golan Levin and the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University

for their extremely generous sponsorship. Huge thanks to Jeff Smith (SmithMade), Brian

Covington (Protocast), Niko Solomonos (Display Group), Ed O’Toole (George P. Johnson),

Wendy Marvel (Flipbookits) and JP Kelly for their fabrication support and expertise. Finally, I

would like to send love to my wife Elaine, and my children, Julia and Martin for their patience,

encouragement and inspiration.