“My Country, Tis Of Thee”

I have an equal fascination and fear of firearms. We are surrounded by them in this country. My aversion to firearms is what prompted this series. It is an attempt to address a fear.

The sheer number and different styles of guns we produce is fascinating and disturbing to me. Each weapon is designed to do one thing, and one thing well: fire a projectile at a high velocity with the simple pull of a trigger. As objects, some of the solutions are undeniably elegant, some clunky, some clever, some pure function, and some are absolutely imposing and designed for battle. Each manufacturer has approached the design and function of the weapon in a way that creates a unique look, character and attitude for each piece. The attention to detail, materials, engineering and design is marvelous. I do not understand why we, as a country, produce so many of them.

I painted each weapon at actual size and faithfully in their detail. I approached them as portraits. Each painting was made from the guns owned by people around me. I did not pick and choose them, this is what the people had. I do not own any guns, nor do I ever wish to.

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Maverick_88_Mossberg_12_guage_punkin_puncher - Michael Rousseau
Maverick 88 Mossberg
12 guage with pumkin puncher – Michael Rousseau