“I created this poster soon after the United States started bombing Afghanistan. Once again the government was attacking a country for its own foreign policy concerns. Around that time I stumbled upon a list of places the U.S. had bombed since World War II, compiled by the author William Blum. I was shocked by how long the list was and the dozens of countries on it that I had no idea the U.S. had attacked. I think the most successful posters use simple, strong images and text to convey a basic idea, and that’s what I was trying to do here. The sheer volume of bombs is shocking when you realize each one represents a country attacked. For me, art finds meaning in social context, and our contemporary context often seems bleak. I find it imperative to try to comment on it, to speak to the world around me, to criticize what I find is wrong, and put forth ideas of what a better world could look like.”
Artwork © 2007 Josh MacPhee
www.justseeds.org
