Trench Art

Trench Art
Originally uploaded by musterofficer.

Greetings from my French outpost. This week I am here in Provence, where one can find beautiful examples of World War I trench art, such as this decorated artillery shell.

Think about it. The first technological war, the beginning of Modernism. Women go to work for the first time, in munitions factories. Imagine the ambivalence of entering a man's world, and getting paid, only to find yourself making the very bombs that are killing your brothers, sons, friends, and lovers.

Meanwhile, the European countryside is being destroyed on a level that would have been unthinkable. Soldiers collect the empty artillery shells that litter the battlefield. Instead of returning them to the army to be recharged, they take them, illegally, into the trenches. Then, using whatever crude tools are at hand, they turn them into art.

Enlist!

Friends, Comrades, Muster Veterans and New Recruits, are you ready to MUSTER? This is a reminder that the deadline for CAMPERS is April 1st, which is right around the corner!

Everyone is invited to the Muster on the day of May 14th. But if you want to CAMP on Governors Island on the night of May 13th, you must officially enlist by proposing a CAMPSITE INSTALLATION. We only have permits and provisions for a maximum of fifty campers, so if more than fifty people wish to enlist, a group of fifty participants will be selected at the discretion of Mustering Officer Allison Smith and the Public Art Fund. Please click on "How to Enlist" for more information.

Amazing Proposals are already filling up the Muster mailbox. Enlist Today!

Campsite Installation Ideas

Allison Smith's Field Camp
Originally uploaded by musterofficer.

The following few posts will give you an idea of the campsite installations presented at the Muster 2004.

This was my campsite, the Mustering Officer's Field Headquarters. It consisted of a furnished Civil War-era wall tent, camp table, gun rack, and clothesline.

Primary Colors

Jonathan Henretig's Teepee
Originally uploaded by musterofficer.

This teepee was constructed by Muster 2004 Veteran Jonathan Henretig, who was fighting a Battle of the Self. Inside the teepee was an installation of drawings, sculptures, and numerous props, including a shovel he was using to dig a hole to China.

Please note: Due to the possibility of unexploded cannonballs at Fort Jay, there will be no digging at the Muster below 18 inches into the ground. (No joke!)

Smoke, Mirrors, and Animal Crackers

Jacob Robichaux's Magic Cube
Originally uploaded by musterofficer.

This installation/performance called The Magic Cube was presented by Jacob Robichaux and Beth Houfek at the Muster 2004. Jacob was fighting for Magic and Illusion, and Beth was serving Campaign Rations. After dark, Jacob and Beth put on an elaborate magic show with hundreds of props that they manipulated for spectators through small viewing windows.

Please note: There will be extremely limited electrical resources at the Muster. Remember, we will be out in the middle of a large field on an army base that has been abandoned for seven years. Therefore, in your campsite proposal, try to imagine a time before computers and video projectors...

Rest Cure

Dana Sherwood's Convalescent Arbour
Originally uploaded by musterofficer.

This is Dana Sherwood's Convalescent Arbour at the Muster 2004. Dana's personal nurse, Becca Jewett, can be seen reading to Miss Sherwood, who was fighting to be in bed.

Dana actually slept in this bed at night. It's no wonder she needed someone there to nurse her back to health.

Armory!

Armory!
Originally uploaded by musterofficer.

Thank you to Everyone who came out to enlist at my recruiting booth in The Armory Show, March 10th to 14th.

For this occasion, I presented one hundred colorful rifles, muskets, and sabers, issuing them to collectors under the condition that they enlist in my Cause. Individuals who purchased these emblematic weapons were required to sign a Volunteer Enlistment form. This official certificate acknowledged that purchasers had voluntarily Armed themselves with Art, and stated that they would solemnly swear to be supporters and defenders of Art against all it enemies or opposers whomsoever.

By the way, I finally got my voice back.

Public Address

Public Address
Originally uploaded by musterofficer.

This is the humble stage I used in February to deliver a Public Address at Foxy Production gallery in Chelsea.

In this speech, I discussed the Red and Blue states of the recent presidential elections as analogous to the Blue and Gray states of the Civil War, and particularly how the issue of same-sex Civil Union, as it was used in the Bush campaign, has somehow become the ironic lynchpin of a Civil War-like ethos in America.

I explored the oxymoronic notion of a Secessionist Union, weaving together historical moments of queer mustering, such as the Stonewall Rebellion, noting the extraordinary coincidence that the namesake of the Stonewall Inn is the Confederate Commander Thomas J. Jackson. I was also trying to invoke the metaphor of Secession versus Union to articulate the ambivalence in GLBTQ communities over counter-cultural allegiance versus mainstream identification.

Log Cabin

Log Cabin
Originally uploaded by musterofficer.

I presented this sculpture at the recent Log Cabin exhibition curated by Jeffrey Uslip at Artists Space. Called "Flagging Stack-Arms," it incorporates a flag made using the traditional Log Cabin quilt pattern. The flag is furled, suspended between two sets of stacked wooden rifles. The purpose of stacking arms is to ground weapons in a uniform manner, so as not to interfere with the soldiers' line of vision. It is the term for relinquishing weapons when they are not in use, but also often signals the end of war.

This sculpture was also inspired an element in Edouard Detaille's 1888 monumental painting "The Dream," which depicts soldiers laying on a battlefield along a row of stack-arms in the early hours of dawn. But rather than being the casualties of war like those pictured in so many Matthew Brady photographs, these soldiers are simply asleep, resting up for a new day's battle.

And rather than being the sad victims of a nightmarish fate, these soldiers are instead dreaming of revolution, and their future revenge against French Republican rule. Filling the clouds is a rousing muster, a gathering of the troops in Detaille's imagination, from every important battle he could think of.

LTTR Explosion

LTTR Explosion
Originally uploaded by musterofficer.

Recruiting has officially begun for the Muster 2005!

This image was taken outside of Art in General last July, where I set up a storefront Muster recruiting station as part of LTTR's month-long tour de force, Explosion LTTR. Collaborating in the gallery with artist Carrie Moyer over a two-day period, we hosted a flag- and banner-making workshop in anticipation of the 2004 Muster.

If you haven't heard of LTTR, go to www.lttr.org today and add this to your arsenal of contemporary art!

Welcome

Welcome to the Muster blog. This will be a place to see the latest information about the Muster and Muster-related activities.