America: Dying for Business
by Hugh D’Andrade
This poster is a parody of a poster that was distributed widely throughout San Francisco in the months following the 9/11 attacks. The original text read “America: Open for Business,” with a picture of an American flag shopping bag and was intended by the artist, Craig Frazier, as a call for people to remain calm and to support local business.
But as the country geared up for war, first in Afghanistan and later in Iraq, and as the Bush Administration began aggressively undermining civil liberties at home, the topic of consumerism became a perfect target for political parody.
My parody mocks the idea that we can shop our way out of a crisis. I thought then and think now that shopping was an inappropriate response to the situation, which required that Americans rethink our relationship to the world and to each other.
Artwork © 2010 Hugh D’Andrade.
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